the new munks
by Tryingtowriteprostyle
Summary: This the finale, people. It's long, but it's also how this all ends. So, please read. And don't miss the next story in this saga. We go back to our time in "Chipmunks: Secrets and spirits', premiering tomorrow night.
1. Chapter 1

New munks

Welcome to our lives

" you sure this is where they said to meet them?" A 20 year old woman asked her boyfriend. " I'm telling you, I talked to him last night, Hon. He said this is where they would meet us. Besides, he'd never lie to us, you know that." " True." " Heather! Jason!" A voice came. A man, with Black hair, looking to be in his mid-forties, came up. Following him was an elderly woman, still spry for being 74, and old man, also spry for 75. Behind the old man was a young chipmunk. She wore a simple blue dress. She looked like she was about 33. She stood at about 5' 8". " Dave!" Heather shouted. She ran and hugged the man. " It's good to see you guys." Jason said. " It's only been 3 months. Dave said. " It's November! And you guys are just now ending the tour? Man, we've missed the guys birthday ,and the girls too. Does it really take that long to make, what, 30 stops?" Heather asked. " Well, yes. And besides, when you travel with them, you know your in for some adventures." Dave said. " How many this time?' Jason asked. " Oh, let's see, they stopped an attempted robbery, dealt with Ian Hawke again, saved, let's see, 1, 2,3.. About 6 people from various disasters. Two from a big fire, another 2 from a raging river and one from a wreck." Xavier, the older man, said. ' man, they just attract trouble don't they?" Heather asked. " Yeah, but they are used to it. And it's quieter than six years ago, remember that?" Jason said. " Lord, how could we?" Ms. Miller, the older woman, said. " Thank you guys for being such good friends to them all these years." Vinny, the chipmunk, said. " Hey, if it wasn't for them, Jay and I wouldn't have each other, or our jobs at the label. We should be thanking you." ' Not a problem. Even trade, right?" Dave said. They nodded. " By the way, where are they anyways?" Jason asked. " Oh you know them. Alvin had to have some grand entrance, so Cash cooked up a plan. Trust me, you'll like it." Xavier said. " Man, those guys, right?" Jason said. " Oh, you don't know the half of it." Ms. Miller said. " What happened?" " We got up this morning in an interesting way.' " How?' The couple asked. " Well, as you know, the guys and the girls have been sleeping in the same beds for about two years. Well, we had this real interesting hotel where it was all bunk beds. They all had their own rooms, with two bunk beds, and we had the room next to it. Well, Cash and Alvin had the sides of their beds that were closest to the night stand, with Brittany and Katrina near the wall. Well, Alvin rolls over in just the right way, and his hand falls over the edge and smacks Cash in the face. Cash wakes up and says ' Alvin, get your hand out of my face." Alvin says " You get you face away from my hand." Then Cash says ' if you don't get your hand out of my face, I swear I'll bite it." Alvin laughed it off, but then we hear ' OWWW! Cash, I'll kill you!' We all come out of our rooms to see Alvin chasing Cash down the hall." Dave said. Jason and Heather held each other up, while laughing hysterically. " Yeah, welcome to our lives." " ' Oh man. They just turned 19 and they can't act any better?" Heather said. ' Apparently." Dave said. Meanwhile, on the tour bus. " Okay guys, we're approaching the stadium, ready?" " Yeah Toddy, roll the windows down." Cash said. " Man, this is the best idea you've had yet, Cash." Alvin said. " I know. Now, everybody on the roof. Todd, crank the stereo." " Got it!" The eight climbed on the roof. As they rolled up, the song could be heard. The crowd turned around. " You know you got it made when you drop an escalade, for the drop top, iced out, rocks hot, droppin' dollars, ladies holler." Cash began.

New munks

An important question

As the munks finished, they climbed back into the bus, they rolled into the theater. " Alright guys and gals, to you positions. We're starting with ' we're the chipmunks." Todd Bernstein, now in his late thirties, said to the gang. " Ok. Let's get to it." Meanwhile, outside, Jason and Heather were laughing harder than ever. " Only Cash or Alvin could cook up an entrance like that!" " Rolling in on the top of the bus? Classic." " Well, let's get inside. You two got your passes we gave you right?" ' We never come to a show with out them." Heather said. " Good, let's go." Dave said. Walking down to the front row, Jason decided to ask Dave a question. " hey Dave?"" Yeah, jay?" " When I talked to Cash last night, he said that he and the boys had an important question to ask me and Heather. Could you tell us what it is?" " I could, but I promised them I'd let them ask you themselves. Don't worry, you'll find out what it is later." " Whatever you say." They took their seats. ' ladies and Gentlemen, help me in welcoming our guest back up performer and Tonight's Mc. Heather Grace and Jason Diggs!" The announcer said. " They got to do this every time, huh?" Heather asked. " Well, those are our job listings at the label. Let's go!" They climbed the stairs, to a rush of applause. Heather went back behind the curtain, where she was told what songs she would assist with. Jason took his position at the Dj's booth. " Ladies and gents. Help me, in welcoming, The chipmunks!' Jason cried. The curtains rolled back. There was big pyrotechnics explosion And Cash leaped on stage amidst them. "Watch out, Cause here we come." He started. " Alvin appeared and Continued. " It's been a while, but we're back with style." Then Simon showed.' So get set, to have some fun.' Then Theodore. " We'll bring you action, and satisfaction." They then joined together in the chorus. " We're the chipmunks! C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K! Were the chipmunks! Guaranteed to brighten your day!" Then it was the girls turn. Kate came on first. " When you, feel like a laugh." " Then Britt. ' Give us a call we'll give you a roll." Then Jeanette. " And if you feel like a song." Then it was Eleanor's turn. " Tune into to us, and sing right along." Then Cash sang the second chorus. ' We're the chipmunks! Coming on stronger than ever before! We're the chipmunks! Coming to ya forever more!" Everyone applauded them. ' Thanks Jay. Never complain do you?" Cash said. " hey, you're the one who has to jump through fire. I'm happy up here." They played out the concert and then retreated to the vip lounge. Dave and the others soon followed. " You guys were on fire. And Heather, Baby, o man.." " Thank you, Honey." Heather said. 'So, you gonna tell them?" Dave asked. ' Sure." Cash said. " Guys sit down." They did. " Now, look at the girls hands, notice anything?" They looked at the girls hands. On the left ones, they spotted it. " Are those?" Heather asked. ' ep, engagement rings." Alvin said. " Oh my god! Congrats guys!" Heather shouted." So, we want to ask you something." Simon said. " We have our weddings planned for, get this, next week. Cash and Katrina on Monday, Alvin and Brit Wednesday, Theo and Ely on Friday and Jean and myself on Sunday. And, since you have been our best friends for all these years, we'd like to know you'd be the best man and maid of honor in all the weddings?" Simon said. " You didn't even need to ask. Hell yes we will. Right, hon?" " Of course." " Thanks you guys." " Where are the weddings going to be?" . " In this little town where Dave's mom and dad live. We leave torrow, you can follow us."

New munks

Wedding bells

The whole crew left that Friday, spent Saturday hanging out and catching up and then Sunday was all prep and what not. Finally, Monday arrived. Cash walked down the aisle with his mom. She walked down to the alter and then kissed his cheek. ' You've come a long way, honey." ' Wouldn't be here with out you." She then took her seat next to Dave. She began to cry and Dave gave her a handkerchief. Next, Heather and Jason walked down. Jason nudged Cash as he took his spot. " I got a case of things you and your brothers are going to need when all these are over, if you catch my drift." " Shut up, man." Then came Britt and Al. Jason tried the same joke with Al. " Whatever. We'll focus on that later.' Jason decided to give up, none of the brothers were in a joking mood. Next was Jeanette and Simon. " Just a few more days.' She said to him. ' Can't wait.' next it was Ely and Theo. " Just a bit longer." " Yeah.' He said. Finally, Xavier and Kate, wearing the purest white dress you've ever seen, stood at the door. " You ready, baby?" Xavier said. He had taken to the girls to the point that he, like most grandfathers, started calling them baby. " I've been ready for this for about six years. You think my mom and dad would approve?" " I didn't know Sam and Mandy, but I don't think they'd have any objections. Besides, they are technically right here with you.' Xavier said, pointing to the glistening 'samandy' flower pinned to Katrina's chest. " Yeah." " Well, let's go." He said. She took his arm and they began walking. The familiar march song began. Vinny and Rebecca, sitting next to each other, began to sob as they saw her. " She looks radiant." Dave said. Xavier walked her to the alter. She then threw her arms round him. " I love you, Grandpa." " I love you too, baby." The reverend, the same one who had promised to do all the weddings years ago, began the prayer. When he finished, he began the ceremony." Dearly beloved, we are gathered to celebrate the love of these two young souls. If there is anyone present who has reason these two should not be married, speak now, or forever hold they peace." Nobody said a word. Grandma Seville broke down into Grandpa's arms. " Well then. Cassius, do you take Katrina Ginger Miller to be your lawfully wedded wife? To love, honor and obey her, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?" " I do.' ' And Katrina, do you take Cassius Clay to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and obey him, I n sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, till death do you part?" " I do." " Then, by the power invested in me by the almighty, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss your bride." And that was what Cash did, in earnest. " Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Mr. And Mrs. Cash Seville!" at the reception, Jason caught the garter and Heather the bouquet. The next day had to prep for Alvin and Brittany's wedding. The girls were sitting alone, finally having a moment to rest. " So, what's it feel like?" heather asked Katrina. " It's everything you'd expect." She said. " when is your honey moon?" ' We were all planning on going together to someplace next Tuesday." Jeanette said. " A big Honey moon, huh?" ' yeah." " can I ask something?" " Sure." "is your middle name really Ginger?" ' Yep, Katrina Ginger Seville." " All our middle names are after spices." Jeanette said.


	2. Chapter 2

New munks

AB and TE: finally

The girls informed Heather that Brittany's middle name was coriander, Eleanor's was gale and Jeanette's was rose ( yes rose is a spice, look it up). Finally, the day arrived. Brittany was stressing. " Does my hair look ok? Is my dress on right?" " Brittany, you look gorgeous. Besides, I don't think it would matter to Alvin.' Eleanor said. ' Your right. Thanks girls." They nodded. " where's my.." " The Samandy flower is right here. We colored it pink for you." Brittany's dress, as all the other girls wedding dress would be, was white with highlights, such as the garter, sash( or belt0 and such were in their signature colors. Brittany pinned the flower to her dress. " We got to go take our places." Jeanette said. Brittany nodded. After everyone took their spots, Xavier came in. ' Ready, Britt baby?" ' As I'll ever be." She allowed him to lead her down the aisle. Alvin had to admit that his heart was pounding. He had never been so neverous. After the prayer, on came the question." I do." Alvin said. " and do you, Brittany Coriander Miller, take Alvin as your lawfully wedded husband? To love honor and obey him, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, so long as you both shall live?" " I do." "then, by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride.' after the kiss, the reverend, seeming a little to enthusiastic, said " I present Mr. and Mrs. Alvin Seville." At the reception, due to a lack of eligible bachelors and bachlorettes, Heather and Jason caught the garter and bouquet again. The next day, they rested, having Eleanor and Theodore's preparations made. " So, that makes twice. Either we need more people to come to these, or fate is trying to tell you something.' The newest Mrs. Seville said to Heather. ' maybe." The next day. " Ready, Ely sweetie?' Eleanor was the only one he called sweetie. " Try and stop me." She said. She walked down with Xavier. Almost jumping onto him, Eleanor planted a big kiss on Xavier's cheek. ' I love you, Grandpa." she said. " I love you too." Finally, the two youngest said I do. " Then by the power invested in me, I now pronounce you man and wife. Now, kiss your bride." After this, the reverend said " I now present Mr. And Mrs. Theodore Seville!' Finally, some new people, invited by Grandma Seville, showed up. A couple, named Josh and Kayla, caught the garter and Bouquet. Now, there was just one to go. Theodore sat with Cash and Alvin, while Eleanor assisted the other girls in helping Grandma Seville make dinner. " Now, Eleanor, it's your wedding day. You shouldn't be doing this. None of you should. I should be doing it all." " Yeah, well, we want to help, so tough cookies Grandma." Brittany said. Simon came up. " sorry, Sy. Married munks only." Alvin said. ' Well, that'll be soon enough." " True. Pull up a chair. Now, do we haze Theo or what?" Alvin said. " Hmm, yeah. We should have something.. I got it. Theodore has to spell his wife's whole name, first, middle and last, while standing on his head." Cash said. " But.." " I'll do it first, ok? Then Alvin and then you. And then Sy, you'll have to do it after Sunday.' " Fine." Cash flipped onto his head. " K-a-t-r-I-n-a G-I-n-g-e-r S-e-v-I-l-l-e. there. Al?" Alvin flipped over. ' B-r-I-t-t-a-n-y C-o-r-I-a-n-d-e-r S-e-v-I-l-l-e." Theodore shrugged and did as told. " E-l-e-a-n-o-r G-a-l-e S-e-v-I-l-l-e." ' Can I do mine ahead of time?" Simon asked. " That's cheating." " Please?" " Fine." " J-e-a-n-e-t-t-e R-o-s-e S-e-v-I-l-l-e." " Ok, that was worth letting him go early." Alvin said. " be quiet, Alvin." " Guys, dinner's on!" As they went to bed, cash patted Ely on the back. "Night, sis."

New munks

The Nobel wedding

" Do I really look ok?"' " Jeanette, just remember my husband's, man that still feels weird, just remember his advice from years ago. All we got to do is show off your big, soulful green eyes and let this hair down." Katrina said. After making the changes, the three already married chipettes stepped back. " Wait a sec. Here, put on the blue Samandy." Eleanor said. After they pinned it to her, they gasped. " you look amazing!' They said. " I love you girls." She said. " We love you too." " Girls, time to get in positions." The girls walked out and took their positions. Simon was shifting about. " I don't know, man.." " Sy, relax. It's natural to be nervous, but once you say I do, it just goes so smooth." Alvin reassured him. Xavier came in. " ready, Jeanie?" Jeanette gulped hard.' Yeah.' Jeanette walked down with Xavier. Ms. Miller looked like she would bust her tear ducts. Vinny patted her on the back. After the prayer, there came the all important questions. Simon said it and then Jeanette said I do. Finally, they kissed and were presented as Mr. and Mrs. Simon Seville. Finally, they rested. " God, That was one hell of a week." Alvin said. " Yeah. Man, what do we do tomorrow?" Cash said. " How about we go shoot guns while the girls go shopping?" Grandpa Seville asked. " Why not?" Dave said. ' Ok, so all of us will go shopping, while you guys blow stuff up?" Brittany said. ' Call it our wedding present to ourselves.' Alvin said. The girls nodded. " Vinny, Mom, your gonna come with us right?" Eleanor asked. " Of course, Mrs. Seville." Ms. Miller joked. " Well, shall we prepare dinner for our men girls?" Mrs. Seville asked. " Yeah. Can we make something special for each of them?" Jeanette asked. " sure." The boys just sat and told jokes. In the kitchen, Katrina was hard at work making Cash a cheesecake. Brittany made a huge pot of Mac-and-cheese for Alvin, his favorite. Eleanor made dumplings, Theodore's addiction. Jeanette made the only thing she knew would please Simon, Chicken wraps, with the exact combo of meat and vegetables that he liked. Of course, as this was for everybody, they made enough for everyone. Meanwhile, the boys were telling jokes. " You know, I don't think women don't gather to necessarily shop, I think they do it to talk and catch up. I was reading about the brain. In average cases, Men use 25, 000 words and women use 40, 000 words. They got to use those words up. " Which is why they will still be revved up after you come home dead tired. You'll see. When they say marriage is an adventure into itself, they weren't kidding." Grandpa Seville said. " this is the voice of experience." Xavier said. " So listen. Know one thing. No matter what, the lady of the house is boss. You're the representative of the house hold, but she's the boss. Got it?' The boys nodded. " Smart young men, aren't they?" " yep, just married and they already get it." Dave said. " anyways, I was reading that and you know men couldn't shop together. Especially not us brothers, it would be a disaster. We compete against each other too much. It would be like, say I come home and Kate says " so, how was your shopping trip with the guys?" " Eh, Alvin bought a fishing pole, so Simon bought a boat, So I had to buy a whole Marina." The boys laughed. " Guys, dinner's on." " Oo, the fine china. What's the occasion honey?' Grandpa Seville asked. " Well, this our first meal as the whole Seville family. Right, Dave?" " Right. Xavier, I set it up for you to be the guys legal guardian, so, once me and Vinny are gone, it's your job to take care of them." " Got it." " Well, shall we eat?" " Who boy, yes, yes."

New munks

Xavier's gift and honey moon

" So, what are we shooting?" Alvin asked. " well, first off, Xavier has something to say before the ladies leave." Grandpa Seville said. " Well, it's time for my wedding present for the lot of you. Tomorrow, you all leave for Hawaii for your honey moon. Also, I promise that, by the time you get back, you'll have houses to live and start your families in." Xavier said. The munks all hugged him. ' You serious?' Brittany asked. " Yep. I recently acquired some properties near Dave's house. I'll have them furnished and what not and then they'll be ready. Oh, and they are already paid off." " You rock, X." " I know." " Alright, see you later, honey." Brittany said to her husband. She kissed him goodbye. ' Bye, honey." Eleanor said, kissing Theodore goodbye. Jeanette did the same and so did Katrina. Heather and Mrs. Seville did as well. Later on, the boys were shooting. " huh, look at that. The samurai of the family using a gun." Alvin said. " Well, while I'd never use one, I can understand why people like them. The heft, the cool steel in your hand, and most importantly, the power. The power to change lives forever in an instant. The power of God." Cash said. " Come to think of it, all weapons give people the power of God, just to different degrees." Simon said. " Wiser than their years, huh Son?' Grandpa Seville asked. ' Yep." After shooting guns all day, they finally got to the one gun Alvin wanted to fire. " SHOTGUN!" Alvin shouted. He pulled out one, loaded it and took aim at his stack of cans. He fired and blew holes in the very top stack of cans. " beat that.' Alvin said to Cash. " If you insist." Cash took aim and basted away all the cans in the direct center of his stack, causing them all to fall. " Show off." later, cash got an idea. " Hey, Grandpa, you got an old empty propane tank, an air compressor and a lot of saw dust?" " Yeah, why?" " I got an idea. Sy, help me out? " " sure." ' Ok, w need a big pipe, the saw dust, a road flare, an old propane tank and an air compressor." They went to work, building this contraption as cash had seen on an internet video. " Okay, turn on the air Sy." The air began to fill the empty propane tank. " Ok, Al, light and place the flare on top of the sawdust." Alvin did. The sawdust was filling the large pipe, which would serve as a big cannon. " Ok, Theo, flip the switch." Theodore flipped the switch. The air blew from the tank and up the pipe, forcing all the saw dust out. As it passed the lit flare, it had a delayed reaction and then exploded into brilliant burst of flame. " COOL!" Everybody shouted. The next day, the munks waved goodbye and went on their honey moon. Their second night there, they sat on the edge of the dock near their hotel, which was owned by Xavier, conveniently enough. Cash began to sing. " I watch the proverbial sunset, coming down over the Atlantic and, it may sound like I'm losing my mind, but I say this moment is perfect." That night, Al and Cash, well.. They consummated their marriages. The last few days passed and they returned home. As promised, Xavier had the houses ready and all their stuff moved in. Cash and Alvin, plus their wives, spent the rest of that Friday resting, but Theodore and Simon got busy and consummated their marriages. They weren't sure what would happen next, but they knew something big was on it's way. " So, honey, shall we retire?' Katrina asked, with a sly look on her face.


	3. Chapter 3

New munks

They're on their way

A few weeks passed by. The munks had been married for a solid month now. Brittany and Katrina began to notice they were gaining weight. They thought nothing of it at first. Then, one day. " Ugh, o, my stomach.' Kate whined. This woke cash. " Something the matter baby?" ' My stomach, ugh, it feels like it's on fire. It's churning and …ugh, bathroom!" she ran to the toilet and threw up. " Oh God!' Cash said. He ran to her side and tried to comfort her and held her hair back for the next five minutes." Are you ok now?" " Yeah, I think so." " here, you get back in bed. I'll go make breakfast. Something lite to settle your stomach." ' Thank you sweet heart." It was pretty much the same deal at Alvin's. " How the devil do you cook this thing?" Alvin said. He was looking over a healthy choice breakfast, which, considering his and Brittany's eating habits, was the lightest thing they had. He couldn't find the microwave directions. " Oh, there they are. Ok, slit package and place in microwave on high heat for 3 minutes. That's not so hard." A few days later, Jeanette and Eleanor began to notice the same problems. The four sisters grew concerned for their well beings. They had been sick before, but never had it lasted this long. And, the thing that perplexed them, was that though they threw up every morning, they kept gaining weight. At the urging of their husbands, and a little help from Cam, the four went to see Doctor Samson. 'Well, hello girls. It's been a while." " Yes it has. Thanks for agreeing to see all of us at the same time." " Hey, your friends of Cam and friend of his is a friend of mine." " Hey, Doc, how come if Cam is your brother, how come his last name is Tomes?" " Oh, our mother married twice. My father's name was Samson and his was Tomes." " Oh, that makes sense." Brittany said. ' So, what seems to be the trouble, Mrs. Seville?' ' Which one are you talking to?" Jeanette asked. " generally, all of you." " Well, for the past few days, we've noticed we've been gaining weight. That's not really a bother. But, what is a pain, is that, every morning we get sick at our stomachs and then throw up for about five minutes or so. We're afraid we caught a bug or something on our honey moon." Eleanor said. Doctor Samson smiled to himself. He had a feeling what the case was. " well, I'll take some blood to test and ( he pulled out a two way radio) Doctor Lockehart, please come to room 210." " Who's doctor Lockehart?" Katrina asked. " a gynecologist and a personal friend of mine. Your in good hands. " Doctor Lockehart appeared. The girls were expecting a burly man, like Doctor Samson, but instead it was a beautiful young lady, who looked like she was no older than 25. " You rang?" " yes, we need to conduct 'those tests' on these young ladies." Doctor Lockehart looked the girls over. " I get it. Ok, Ken, you draw the blood and then leave." He did as requested. " Ok, girls, one by one, I need you to go to the bathroom and fill these cups." " Why?" 'We need to collect samples from you." " And what do we fill them with?' " Surely you've done urine tests before. ' 'Uri.. You want us to pee in some cups?" Brittany asked. " that's the idea." " Well, I'll go first." Jeanette said. Then it was Katrina, then Eleanor and finally Brittany. Doctor Lockehart took the samples away and promised to be back with Doctor Samson shortly. After 15 minutes, the two returned. " Girls, we know exactly hat's wrong with you." Doctor Samson said. " Give it to us straight Doc, are we going to die?" Brittany asked. " No, but some new life is on it's way." " What?" doctor Lockehart stepped up" let me. Congrats, ladies, your pregnant."

New munks

Breaking the news

" We're what?!" Brittany shouted. " Pregnant. P-r-e-g-n-a-n-t. Pregnant. Meaning your carrying little lives inside you, right now." Doctor Lockehart said. " Your kidding, right?" Katrina said. The girls all clearly looked embarrassed. " Now, Now girls, it's natural for newly weds to make love on their honey moon." Doctor Samson said. " Um, how far along are we?" Eleanor asked. " Well, according to our tests, Brittany and Katrina are a full month along and Jeanette and Eleanor are just a few days short of a full month." He said. " looks like we know who did it when." Doctor Lockehart said. The girls turned beet red. " Well, you going to tell them?" Doctor lockehart asked. ' Who?" Katrina asked. " Your husbands, silly. And your family." " Well… Oh, I know. We got a family cook out this weekend. It's better to tell all them together. Get over with in one shot." Brittany said. " Good idea." Eleanor said. ' well, good luck." Doctor Samson said. They nodded and left. Before they left, the doctors gave them some drugs to take care of their morning sickness until it ended naturally. The girls waited until the weekend. It was now December twelfth. ' Code monkey get up, get coffee, code monkey go to job, code monkey have boring meeting with boring manager rob." Theodore sang as he ran the grill. Eleanor came out, still a bit nervous. She and the others had decided to bring it up after everyone had eaten and was good and content. She passed him the plate of chicken. " Thanks, honey." " Your welcome. Love you." she said, kissing his cheek. As a matter of fact, all the guys were perplexed as to why the girls kept repeatedly telling them that they loved them. But, they passed it off. " Ready Cash?" " Are you sure this won't blow up?" Cash asked. " I guarantee it won't." " Ok. Let's see what these jet boots of yours can do.' Simon fired up the control. Cash began to hover above the ground. ' Hey, it works." Simon said. " what was that?' cash asked. " Oh nothing." " hey, can I do loops and barrel rolls in these?" I wouldn't try it just yet." ' Guys food's on." Theodore said. Simon dropped the control, which landed on the off switch. And, instead of coming down slowly, he fells straight to the ground. " Ow, Simon!" " ops. You alright?" ' yeah, yeah, let's go eat." One hour later, the girls nodded to each other. They stood up and all went to the end of the table so that they guys, Dave, Ms. Miller, Xavier and Vinny could see them. " Something up girls?" Alvin asked. ' We have an announcement." Brittany said. ' We all went to the doctors earlier in the week and we found out why we've been gaining weight and throwing up in the morning." Eleanor said. " Who wants to say it?" Brittany asked. ' um, um, I.. I'll do it.' Jeanette said. " um guys, the doctors said.. They said we're.. They said we're pregnant." The boys all fell over. " Say what!?" Alvin and Cash said as they got up. " We're pregnant." Brittany said. ' For real?" Alvin asked Brittany. ' Yep. There's a little chipmunk, right here." she said, putting his hand on her stomach. The boys stood there for a second. The girls began to worry the boys weren't happy. Then, Dave noticed smile itching their ways across the boys faces. Then they all jumped into the air and shouted " YES!" " Your happy?" " Of course. We've been waiting for this since Jeanette's vision." Theodore said. " So, you know what's coming?" " Yep." " Say, Vinny, how long were your pregnant with the boys?" Katrina asked. ' About 4 months. Why? How far along are you?' " We're all about a month along." " ¼ of the way there." Cash said. " Well, this is going to be interesting." Xavier said.

New munks

It's time

A few days short of four months passed. IT was now February 17th. The girls looked like they were ready to pop at any time. Especially Katrina and Brittany. The guys were sitting at their houses, playing together over Xbox live. ' Cash, get him." " Not yet." They were playing the latest Socom. Cash was sniper, Alvin the main gunner, Simon the medic and Theodore the Grenadier. " Theodore, cover Cash until he can get the shot." Alvin cried. " Got it.' " Simon, I'm hurt." " Got it." " Come on Cash, we can't hold them off any longer." " Got it. Taking the shot." Cash pressed the button and the bullet fired, striking the digital terrorist in the head. An instant kill and an instant mission complete. " Whoo! Yeah, that's six missions in a row. We're on fire today.' Theodore said. ' and another one bites the dust." Cash sang. " Ok, on to the next one?" Alvin asked. " Sure." The others said. " you know guys, it's just about four months since the girls became pregnant. Who do you think will be first?" Cash said. ' Well, knowing her father, I'll bet Brittany and Alvin's daughter will be first." Simon said " And then Cash's son." Theodore said. " Well, we could pretty much expect that." Alvin said. " man, I can't wait till this is over with. Brittany's easy to deal with most of the time with, but when those mood swings kick in, head for the hills." Alvin said. ' Thank God they're all out at the big baby shower Mom, Megan, Mary and Heather are having for them, huh?" Theodore asked. ' Anybody taking bets on what they'll look like?" Alvin asked. " Well, with you and Brittany, Little Eliza doesn't have a choice, she's probably going to have he mother's red hair and blue eyes. Tommy will probably have blue eyes too. Now, with Tony, it's different. He could have blue or green eyes, depending if he takes after me or Jeanette. Olivia will probably be her mother's mini-me and have blonde hair and brown eyes." Simon said. " Dang Simon." Alvin said. " What?" " That's exactly what I was going to say." " Has it hit you guys yet?" Cash asked. " What?" " The fact that, pretty soon, we're going to be fathers. There are going to be little chipmunks running around calling us daddy." " Yeah, it's great isn't it?" Alvin asked. " I guess.' Cash said. " Aren't you happy, Cash? Your going to be a dad.' 'I Know, it's just that…' ' Oh, I get it." Theodore said. " What?" Alvin asked. " Cash takes the most after dad right?" " That's what mom said." Simon said. " Well, Then, he's just dad was when we were on the way. He's worried about what kind of father he'll be." " Ding ding ding. We have a winner." cash said sarcastically. " You guys know what you'll be. Alvin will be the cool dad, takes his kids to do whatever they want. Simon will be the smart dad, always using his big brains to get his kid out of trouble. Theodore will be the sweet dad that all the kids love. But, what about me? Do I ac like Agito? Or Dave or.." ' Cash , Cool it." Alvin said. " You'll be a great dad. Probably the best out of all of us." " Yeah, remember what Dave said. Your smart like me, Sauvé like Alvin, and kind like Theo. You'll be the cool, smart, and sweet dad all at once." Simon said. " you'll be super dad.' Alvin said. " Thanks you guys." " Now, can we get back to busting terrorists?" Alvin asked. " this time, I want to be squad leader." Cash said. Later, Alvin and Brittany had just finished dinner. 'That was great honey.' Alvin said. " Oh!' Brittany said suddenly. " Huh?" Alvin said.' I got to get to the bathroom!' Brittany shouted. She ran to the bathroom. After a minute or two, she came out clutching her stomach. ' O God! Alvy, my water just broke. It's time!"


	4. Chapter 4

New munks

Eliza and Tom

" Let's go!' Alvin cried. He rushed Brittany to the hospital. Doctor Samson just happened to be in the lobby. ' Alvin? What's the matter?" " It's Britt. It's time!' " She's going into labor, let's go people!" Doctor Samson cried. They took Brittany away. ' I'll be there in a sec!' Alvin cried. He pulled out his cell and dialed Dave. ' Dave, It's Alvin.' 'What's up, Son?" " Could you call the guys and everybody else for me?' ' I guess so, why?" ' Britt's gone into labor." " Then hurry to her. I'll take care of getting a hold of them." ' You rock, dad." Dave dialed Ms. Miller first. " Becky, listen, call Xavier and Vin. Brit just went into labor. We got to round up everybody and get to the hospital." " Got it!' He then called Simon. " What's up Dad?" " Alvin's kid is on the way!' " You mean?' " Yes." " Ok, I'll get Theodore." " Thanks Simon." " No problem." " Hello?" Vinny answered. " Vin, it's Beck. Listen, Brittany's gone into labor." " O my, we'll be there soon as possible." Finally, Dave called Cash. ' Yello?" Cash answered. " Cash, your brother's daughter is about to make her grand appearance get to the hospital ASAP." " On it! Let's go Kate. Britt's gone into labor." With in fifteen minutes, everybody arrived. Five minutes later, Eliza star Seville made the scene. " Oh my god. She's beautiful. Just like her mother." Alvin said, kissing Brittany's forehead. ' Let me hold her.' Brittany said. " Hey sweetie, I'm your mommy. And this is your daddy. Hi." " Welcome to the world." Alvin said. " Welcome, my little princess." " Look, she's got your hair.' Alvin said. " Hard to tell who's eyes she's got." " Yup." " Hey, can we come in?" Cash asked. " Yeah. Come on in." " Oh my, she's adorable." Eleanor said. " well, that was the fastest delivery I've ever seen. So, what's the tikes name? Doctor Samson asked. " Eliza. Eliza Star Seville." Brittany said, tired. " It fits her." " that's the single cutest kid I've ever scene.' Theodore said. " Just wait till Olivia comes, you'll sing a different tune then.' Alvin said. " Well, we'll let you guys rest. Night." Simon said. The proud parents nodded. "She really is beautiful You did a very good job honey." Alvin said. Alvin stuck his pink out to his new daughter. He grabbed it. " I think somebody is saying hi." Brittany said. " You mind?" " She's yours too." Alvin held and gently rocked his daughter. " she's got it written all over her.' He said. " what?" " Rock star." Later that night, Cash slept, smiling. Three hours ago, his brother had just became a father. He glanced at the clock. Midnight, dead even. That's when he noticed Kate get up. When she returned, she was clutching her stomach. ' um, sweet heart..' She said. " Come on!' when they arrived, Doctor Samson was in the lobby again. ' Again?" " Hey, we don't any say in this.' Cash said. " prep her. Let's go!' Cash called Dave. The phone tree went off again. Everyone answered the news the same way. " Already?" Once everyone gathered, Katrina gave birth. Brittany and Alvin were awakened by screaming. " That sounds like..." Alvin said. " it is. Let's go." ' Can you walk?" ' I'm alright, just help me a little." Ok." They walked in and their stood Cash, holding his new born son. " Well, Well, he just couldn't wait, huh?' Alvin said. " Brittany, you should be in bed.' Eleanor said. ' I'm not missing my nephew's arrival." Cash?" Katrina said. " I'm right here, baby." ' Is he alright?" " Alright? He's perfect. All ten fingers and toes, eyes exactly where they should be. Little tiny nose and scraggly hair. He's just perfect." Cash said. " He's your mini-me.' Alvin said. ' Well, let his mom hold him." Dave said. " Hi there honey. I'm mommy and that's daddy."

New munks

Olivia and Tony

A few days later, Brittany and Katrina got to come home with their newborns. Cash, as Alvin had expected, had immediately taken to being a dad. And, Alvin was doing to bad either. All had to learn how to feed, change and do what not for a baby. About three days later, Jeanette and Eleanor went into labor at the same time. Once Cash got word, he could only say one thing. " Here we go again." They all rushed to the hospital. Eleanor's delivery went smooth as could be. Little Olivia, just three days younger than her cousins, was born. Theodore scratched his head. " you I can understand, but how could anything his precious be half me?' He asked Eleanor. " Because you're a handsome munk." She said. Doctor Samson, once again was the delivery doctor. " How many titles do you have?" Alvin asked. About 6. Hey, when you go t medical school, might as well get your money's worth." he nodded. Meanwhile, Doctor Lockehart took care of Jeanette. Finally, they brought the two new mothers into a larger room with two beds, so that everyone could be together. " My Goodness, They are all so cute." Vinny said, examining her four grandchildren. " Life's gonna be a trip with these guys around." Alvin said. Later, Jeanette and Simon walked down to where they kept the newborns. "he's so.. So.. It's just perfect. You me, and him." Jeanette said. " yeah. Never thought I'd be at lose for words, but this is just too much. My son.. Our son." " so, when they grow up, think he'll be the you of their group?" " their group?" " Yeah, I mean, somebody is surely going to have another son and that'll make three boys. So, do you think our son will be the 'Simon' of that group?' ' As sure as I am Tom will be Alvin. I don't know why, I just think he will." Simon said, choking back a laugh. " And Eliza will definitely be the new Brittany." " I'll bet anything Olivia is the new Eleanor. Which means we still need the new Theo and the new you." He said. " Well, we'll see, won't we?" Jeanette said. ' yep." " Oh, I wish I could take him home now." " In due time." He said. " For now, let's be happy he's here and he's healthy." Jeanette leaned into her husband's front with her back. " I love you." She said. " I love you too." Meanwhile, cash sat and stared at his son back at their house. " You…" He said to the little chipmunk. ' You can't win. Dad's the master." Father and son were having a bit of a staring contest. Katrina just laughed it off and started watching TV. Alvin was at home, bouncing little Eliza on his leg. " she sure doesn't get tired of this, does she?" He asked. " Aw, she just loves her daddy." Brittany said. ( One year later) Cash was sitting watching TV when Tom, who had just learned to walk, came in. Tom grabbed his teddy bear from the corner and sat down right in front of his father. Katrina was knitting, a hobby she had taken up recently. She figured if Cash was going to spend all his time sharpening and practicing with his sword, which was his hobby, she needed one too. But, now she had a bit of a reason to knit. A small reason she hadn't informed Cash of yet. Tom began to play with the Bear in a way that looked like wrestling. Once Tom sat on the bear, 'pinning' it to the floor, Cash laid on the floor and slapped his hand on the floor three times. " One, Two, Three. It's over!' He cried. " Ding ding ding." Katrina said jokingly. Cash raised Tom in the air. " And the new undisputed living room champ." Cash said. Tom giggled. " Yay!' Katrina said, tickling her son. " But, you know dear.." " Huh? You say something dear?" Cash asked. " he may have competition soon." she said, pointing to her stomach. " You mean?" She nodded.

New munks

The new chipmunks

Eight years down the road. The girls had turned 27 on the 14th of August, last month. Today was the boys birthday. They would be 27 today. Cash and Katrina had two children. Son Tom, eight years old, and a daughter, Helen, who was Seven. Cash awoke slowly. He gazed over to his wife. She always looked so beautiful. " I'm a lucky man" He thought. ' Beautiful wife, great son, cute as a button daughter.. I got really lucky." He thought. Katrina rose up and yawned a big yawn. She noticed her husband was up. She rolled over on top of him. " Good morning my love." she said. Kissing him. " Happy birthday." " Thank you." They heard two thuds down the hall. That was sure sign of only one thing. The two quickly kissed three more times, then Kate rolled back over to her side. Then, they looked at each other. " Three.. Two.. One." They said. Tom came bursting through the door and didn't slow down as he bounded onto the bed. Helen rushed inside, still carrying her favorite bed time item, a large book. There was no doubt in anyone's mind, Helen was the new Jeanette. And, As Simon had predicted, Tom was the new Alvin, Tony the new Simon and Eliza the Brittany. Olivia, as expected, was just like Eleanor, and her seven year old brother ( born one week after Helen), Ben was the new Theodore. Tom jumped straight up to his father. " Happy birthday, Dad!' He cried. " thank you son. But, your knee is crushing my gut." Tom moved his leg. " Sorry. Morning mom." Tom said, kissing his mother's cheek. " Morning baby. Now, I got my kiss, where's my hug?" " Right here." she held him tight, not letting him go. Helen climbed onto the bed, and then hugged and kissed her father's cheek. ' Happy birthday daddy." " thank you sweet heart." Tom stood on the bed, next to his sister and took in his parents sight. ' Are we interrupting something?" Tom asked. ' Nope. We were just getting up.' Cash said. Tom and Helen turned their backs to their parents. " think they were making out again?" tom asked. " Most likely. The probability is very high." Helen said. Over hearing them, Cash whispered to Katrina " Sometimes I hate how smart our kids are." " well, come on you two. It's time to get ready. Grandpa Dave expects us all at his house by1:00 and, man, have we slept in. It's 11:30." Katrina said. ' alright, go hope in the showers and I'll go get your clothes." " ma'am." Tom said. " Race ya, Nell." " Your on.' Their parents laughed. At Alvin's house, Eliza was just as loud. She bounded on to her father's chest, just as he and Brittany woke up. " Morning daddy. Happy birthday!' She said, kissing her father's cheek. " What about me?" Brittany said. Eliza hugged and kissed her mom as well. " Morning mom." " he gets daddy, but i'm just mom, huh?" Okay, Lizzy-bear, go get ready. We got to be at grandpa's in a little bit." Alvin said. ' Are Tommy, Tony and Benny going to be there?" " Yup. And Helen and Olivia too." Good." She said . Tony politely knocked on his parent's door. " may I come in?" He asked. " Come on in." Simon cried. Tony came up and hugged his father. " Happy birthday, dad. Good morning mom." " Good morning honey. Now, where's my kiss?" Jeanette asked, putting on her glasses. " From me, or dad?" " Both." Father and son both kissed Jeanette's cheeks. ' I feel so loved." she said. At Theo ad Ely's, Olivia and Ben were a bit more discreet. They snuck into their parents room. " 3.. 2... 1! NOW!' Olivia cried. Theodore woke up. His children bounded onto him, hugging him. " Happy birthday dad!"


	5. Chapter 5

New munks

Ben and his cousins

" What's all the commotion?" Eleanor asked as she awoke. She then glanced to her children. Then, she shook her head an got up. Olivia pretty much leaped onto her mother's back. They stood there, Olivia standing on the bed, with her arms wrapped tight around her mother's neck, for a few good seconds. " Morning mom, I love you." " I love you too, honey." " Ha-ha, she definitely is her mother's daughter." Theodore laughed. " And Ben is a daddy's boy." Eleanor said. ' Are we going to Grandpa Dave's today?" Ben asked. Ben was always the most innocent one, just his father had been. He had these pure eyes that were gateways to an even purer soul. He couldn't resist helping those in need, even if it was out of his way. But, unlike his father at his age, Ben was more courageous. He had stood up to three times as many bullies as his father by the time he was age. Theodore chocked it up to him spending all his time with his cousins. Tom and Eliza were never afraid, just like Cash and Alvin. It took a lot to rattle those two. Tom, just like Alvin had done, looked after Ben. Ben had even, on several occasions, referred to Tom as his ' brother'. This occurred when somebody asked what relation Tom was to him and he would say it by accident. But, all the cousins were close. Tom and Tony looked out for each other and only had Ben's best interests in mind, even if it did not go exactly as planned all the time. And, Eliza, Olivia and Helen were the same way, bosom buddies. " Well, if everyone is done hugging, we'd best get ready." Eleanor said. The others nodded. With in Twenty minutes, Cash and his brood were ready. Now, Katrina was just chatting with Heather. ' Oh really? And then what?" Cash over heard. " He did what!? Oh My God. Wait till he hears that, he-he. Oh, I'm so happy for you, Tess." Katrina said. " Am I missing something?" Cash asked his wife. ' Huh? Oh, no honey." She covered the receiver of the phone and leaned in towards him. ' She doesn't want me to tell you yet. I'll tell you later, k?" " Alright.' " You still there, Tess?" Later, everyone began arriving at Dave's. Vinny and Xavier arrived early, to assist with decorations, as did Ms. Miller. Cash and his brood were first. " Hey, Mom." Katrina said as Ms. Miller answered the door. ' Oh, Baby. Look at you. Just as beautiful as ever. And my, Cash, you've grown too. Been working out more?" " No, I've been training Tom. HE always wants to go and man does it keep me active." " Hi, Grandma Becky." Helen said. ' oh, hi sweet heart. Give Grandma a hug. You too Tom." " Aw." Dave said. ' Grandpa Dave!" Helen shouted. " Okay, Nell, which hand is it in this time?" Dave asked. Dave had invented a game about a year ago. He would always have a piece of candy handy for when Helen was around. He did it as a test. To see if she remembered the pattern of which hand he held it in, a way to test how smart she really was. " Let me think. Probability dictates that, since it was in the left last time, if memory serves, it should be the right this time." " Bingo." He then gave her the candy, her favorite flavor of salt water taffy, blueberry. Slowly but surely, the others arrived. Simon and family first, then Theodore an his lot. Finally, Alvin, Brittany and Eliza showed up. As the parents hugged and said their pleasantries, Tom and Eliza were held in place by their fathers. " Tom." Eliza said. ' Liz." Tom said. " Now you two, no fighting." Vinny said. " yes, Grandma vinny.' they said together. " Good luck with getting them not to fight, mom." Alvin said. " The sins of the father are reflected on the child, Alvin." Simon said. "What's that supposed to mean!?" Alvin shouted.

New munks

Who's it going to be?

Later, everyone was happily eating. Their parents sat at the table nearby, within earshot actually, and the kids sat on the patio. Tom began to kick his feet. " So, anybody give it any thought yet?" He asked. " Give what any thought?' Olivia asked. ' Well, we all know our parents are going to be the chipmunks for a while, but one day, we are going to take over. And, the chipmunks have always had a leader. So, which one of us is going to be leader?" the boys overheard their kids talking. " Here we go." Cash and Alvin said. " this ought to be good." Simon said. Everybody else just paid close attention. Ben wandered off to get another hotdog from his father, who was working the grill at the time. Tony and Olivia, knowing a fight was coming, tried to back off. ' Well, it's going to be me of course." Eliza said. " What makes you think that?" Tom asked. " Well, because I'm pretty, smart, good with people and over all, I'm the best choice. Who were you going to say it should be? You?" " Of course." " and why, pray tell, cousin dear?" " Because I'm stronger, faster, smarter, and better looking than you. I'm a better leader anyways, and it's tradition too. The leader has always been a guy. Besides, I'm just a better rocker than you." That tore it. Eliza put her hair up, making her look even more like the eight year old Brittany.. ' Oh, boy. Here we go." Alvin said. " What?" Dave asked. ' That's her serious face. She always puts her hair up when she's about to get serious." Brittany said. " Oh yeah, Mr. Tradition? Well, how much you wanna bet that the girls and I can out rock and roll you and the guys?" Tom cocked and eye brow and flipped his hood up. " Oh boy, it's on now. That's his serious face." Cash said. The cousins darted off to grab their group members. Tony and Olivia noted what was going on. " We've got to keep these two apart.' Tony said, before Tom and Liz snatched him and Olivia away. " Come on, Ben!' Tom said, yanking his cousin away from his father. " But my hot dog!" " Let's go, Nell." Liz yelled as she ran past her. " What? Oh! Wait for me!" She said. The kids leaped into action. " Sun goes down, I'm just getting up, I'm headed for the city lights. Radio blastin' on the way to the club, gonna rock this town tonight." Liz lead the girls. " your living in a man's world, they tell us." Olivia and Helen Sang, making Ben and Tony lean back . " But we ain't gonna buy it." Liz sang, pulling Tom's hood down farther and running over to her cousins by the pool. They lined up, youngest on the bottom step, oldest up on the top. " The things they're trying to sell us now! Cause we're the girls of rock n' roll. ( Wooohooo) Yeah we're the girls of rock n' roll! Rock and roll." Their parents lost sight of the boys. It turned out, they had ran in the house and threw open the windows . " Woo yeah! The curtains up and I'm ready to go, my guitar is in my hand! There's nothing more that I'd rather do, than play in a rock n' roll band." Tom disappeared while Ben and Tony sang. " Headed for the top, don't cha know, we'll never stop believing now!' Tom appeared on the roof. How he got up there, no one could figure out. " Cause we're the boys of rock and roll! You better believe it. Cause we're the boys of rock and roll. Rock and Roll." The boys then jumped, landing perfectly on the lawn. Eliza cocked and eye brow and began marching towards tom, leading the girls. " We are the girls, we are the girls, we are the girls of rock and roll." Tom lead the boys. " We are the boys, we are the boys, we are the boys of rock and roll." Panting hard when they finished, they looked at their parents. ' Who won?" " We can't decide. But, that was as good as we could ever do"

New munks

He's back!

" Oh, those kids." Vinny said. The girls were in the kitchen, assisting with putting the finishing touches on the boys cake. " Tell us out it." Brittany said. " They may be brats at times, but sometimes I just step back and go ' that pretty little girl, with the strawberry colored hair came from me?" Brittany said. " We all feel like that Britt. It's hard to believe isn't it? Years ago, if someone would have told us that our lives would turn out this way, we would have told them they were crazy." Jeanette said. " you know, I really have to thank you girls." vinny said. ' For what?" Katrina asked." for putting up with my boys for all these. You must really love them." " Love isn't a strong enough word, mom." Brittany said. " That's another thing I can't get passed. You care enough for me to call me mom." " Care? We adore you." Eleanor said. " you've been such a great grandma to our kids." Jeanette said. " and fine kids they are. And, they are just the perfect team. They may fight and argue, but, at the end of the day, we know they all love each other and would fight tooth and nail if one need help." vinny said. ' So, I thank you girls. Being and helping make this wonderful family." " Our pleasure." Jeanette said. The boys were watching the kids try to sing various hits from their past. " I got it." Tom said. He picked up his guitar. He never left home with out it. " Gather round guys." The other boys did as told. " um, grandpa Dave? Could you help us with this?" Tom asked. ' If it's the one I think it is, I'd be happy to." He cleared his throat and said " Ok you chipmunks, ready to sing your father's song?" " You know we are." Tom said. " Let's sing it now.' Tony said. ' Alright, Tony?" " Alright." ' Ready, Ben?" " Ready." " Okay, Tommy? Tommy? TOMMMY!" " Ok!" And so, the boys did their father's proud, performing the Christmas song like experts. " Okay, guys! The cake's ready!' Vinny called. " Let's go get some cake, gang." Cash said. The boys had one candle to blow out each. Black for Cash, red for Alvin, blue for Simon, and green for Theodore. The boys closed their eyes, making the same wish they made every year. " I wish for my life to continue to be perfect, exactly the way it is now." They said inside their heads and then blew out the candles. " happy birthday to you." Everyone sang. Later, everyone went home. Unbeknownst to the boys, a certain figure was watching them. ' So, he lives there? And now he has children. Damn, more of those abominations. Oh well, just more for me to slaughter. Just more ways for me to torture that outsider." The figure said to himself. Two days later, Cash was enjoying a simple day at home. He was doing what he always did when Tom was out of the house, worked on his Christmas present. He would never admit to him what he was getting him, all Tom knew was that he was making it by hand and it took three years to do. It was tom's own sword, made exactly like his father's. Kate and Tom had gone to the store and would be back any second. Helen was laying down for a nap. A few minutes later, tom and his mother returned. " Honey, where are you?" " Down here." Cash called. " I'll go check on him." Tom said, a mischievous grin sneaking across his face. " O no you don't. Your not finding out what it is until Christmas. Besides, your father told me it isn't done yet. If you want it so bad, you can be patient." " Okay mom." Cash came up and Helen came down. Helen began assisting her mother with dinner. Tom was playing video games and Cash was taking a nap. The door bell rang. " I'll get it.' Cash said. He found the one guy he didn't want to see. " Hello outsider." " Ah, Crap!"


	6. Chapter 6

New munks

Never seen him that way

Before Cash could react, the man at the door grabbed and threw him into the wall. No doubt, that was Ken. And, he had gotten even bigger. He was now three-four times Cash's size. Cash made a mad scramble for his sword on the wall. " Dad? What's wrong?" tom asked. That's when he saw a flash and then heard the clang of steel. Ken had bought a large sword, now using his size and sword skills. " Crap. Now he's got his monster strength and a sword? Man, one of those was bad on it's own." Cash thought. " hmm, is this your son, outsider?" ' Yeah, ken, he is. And, if you know what's good for you, you'll stay away from him." " Oh, but I can't do that. In order for you to suffer, they all must die!" Ken made a swing at tom, who locked up in fright. But, Cash had his constant, wicked speed on his side. " Tom! Run!" " Come here little Tommy! Let uncle Ken have a word with you." " you stay away from my Son!" Cash said, driving his heel into Ken's back. Ken reached behind himself and grabbed, then threw Cash into the kitchen. " Argg!" Cash said as he hit the side of the kitchen counter. " Daddy!" Helen cried. " Cash? What's going on?" " Katrina, grab the kids and get out of here!" " Why?" " It's ken. He's back! Get them and get out!" Cash dove at his former cousin. Ken had Tom cornered. ' Get away from him." Ken threw Cash into the wall. " Ha-ha! Being a father has made you weak!" " No! My kids are my greatest strength!" ' kids? There's more than just this abomination." Cash's eyes narrowed. He looked really mad. Tom had never seen that look on his father's face. " Don't you dare insult my family. I put up with your crap all my life, it doesn't affect me. But, don't you dare insult my family!" " I'll do whatever I want to your precious family. Once your gone, who's going to protect them? Hmm, I think I'll slaughter this one, and then slowly strangle the other. And your wife.. Well, she is decent for an abomination. She might be good for a while, something for me to 'do' until I get bored. No, on second thought, I'll just chop that black haired bitch into little bitty pieces and make your precious kids eat them!" Ken said with a sadistic cackle. Cash's hand began to shake. His sword shook with it. " I don't care what you do to me. Slice me until no one can recognize me, I don't care. But, if you harm one hair on any one of their heads… I'LL DESTROY YOU!" Cash said, looking to be half-way transformed into Dark Cash. " come on, tom!" Katrina said, grabbing her son's wrist. " But Mom! I want to help Dad." " Honey, no matter how tough your dad is, he's always had trouble with this one. Believe me, we'll be lucky if cash wins. I know he will, he always finds a way, but.. Oh, please honey, don't get yourself hurt to bad in the process." ' Daddy could get hurt?" Helen asked. ' This isn't training, dears. This is a full blown fight to the finish." ' To the finish…." Helen said. ' to the death. Till one drops dead." " I have to go back and help him!' Tom said. ' Tom.. You can't. There's nothing we can do. We just have to hide." " But.." ' Honey, that guy, Ken Ikebana, is a very sick man. He's not right in the head. He always hated your father, ever since he came to live Grandpa Agito. And that hate grew and grew over the years. We've told you how he fought Cash before, right?' " Yeah. He beat him once by himself and then again with Uncle Alvin.' " Alvin1 That's it. Hang on baby, I'm going to get you the best back up there is." Katrina ran the kids to Alvin's house. " Katrina.. Man, sis, you look like hell. You look like you've seen a ghost." Brittany said. " worse! Ken is back! We need to hide." ' Get in here, now!"

New munks

Hang on

" Alvin!" Brittany called. " What's going on mom?" Eliza asked. She didn't get an answer. " Tom, Nell, what's going on?' Some crazy guy named Ken showed up at our house and attacked dad. Mom was afraid he might hurt us and so she made us run. But, I want to go help dad." Tom said. " You Can't Tom. Ken's way out of your league." Alvin said. ' son of a bitch. That bastard can't stay gone, can he? Fine, Brittany, where are my Sai?" ' Second drawer in our dresser." Alvin went and fetched his weapons. ' I haven't used these things in years. Not seriously anyways. I haven't gotten rusty though." " Alvin, please, you have to help Cash." Katrina said. " I have every intent on that. Now, Britt, take the kids and Kate and go hide out at Xavier's. That's the safest place." " But why, Alvin?" " Because, I'm worried if Ken gets away from us, he'd come after them and if he found them here…" " I understand. Come on you four, let's go." ' This guy sounds really bad. Please don't get hurt Daddy." Eliza said Alvin nodded. Brittany kissed his cheek. ' Good luck.' Alvin turned to leave. Tom stood in the way. ' Take me with you." " Tom, I can't." " Please. Dad's fighting to protect us. I can't just sit by and do nothing." ' Trust me, you don't want any part of this guy. But, you want to help?" " Yes." ' Alright, go get your uncles. Tell them what's going on and that I said to ' bring the pain.' They'll know what it means. And, tell them to take your aunts and the other's to Xavier's. Then, you high tail it over there too, got it? I don't want to see hide nor hair of you near there till we give the all clear. Understand?" Tom looked down. " Hey, your dad's my brother. I swear, I won't let anything bad happen. Now, do you understand?" " Yes sir." " Good boy. Now, go!" Then Tom ran off. Alvin headed for Cash's place. Tom arrived at Simon's first. He beat on the door. ' Tom? What's up?" Tony asked. ' where's your dad?" " Right here. What's the matter Tom?" " some crazy guy showed up at our house and attacked Dad. It think his name was Ken." " Ken…" Jeanette said. " uncle Alvin said to send aunt Jeanette and Tony over to Grandpa Xavier's and for you to come and 'bring the pain.'" Simon nodded. He went up stairs and picked his staff and some weird pellets. " Jeanette." " I understand. Good luck honey. Come on Tony. Tom, let's go." ' No, I got to go tell Uncle Theodore. I'll be there in a second." Tom then dashed to Theodore's. he explained the situation again. Theodore grabbed his Tonfa. " Eleanor, I know Tom. I want you to make sure he comes with you and that he stays put." " Got it. Come on Tom." ' But, Aunt Eleanor." " sorry, but there's no time for arguing. Now come on." Tom complied. All the brothers were thinking one thing. " Just hang in there till we get there." Mean while, Cash wasn't have much luck. Every time he attacked, ken fought back dirty. He definitely dislocated Cash's left shoulder and he sliced his right arm. Now, nearly on his last legs, Cash began pleading with himself to keep going. He rushed ken and ken made another move. But, it was a torture technique this time. He jabbed his hand into Cash's gut, just under his ribs. Then, he grabbed a hold of Cash's ribs, and lifted Cash into the air, by his ribs.' AUGH!" Cash thought he might die hear. He then saw a flash of red as ken raised his sword to attack again. ' Didn't I tell you about letting yourself get hurt this bad?" " Alvin.. I.." " hang in there." Ken made another move. Simon jabbed his staff into him. " I don't think so. He then tried to attack once more . But, Theodore, driving his Tonfa into Ken's legs, appeared. " Am I to late for the butt kicking?" " Just in time." Cash said.

New munks

Why they're the best

Alvin jabbed his Sai into ken's arm, paralyzing it. Theodore and Simon knocked Ken to the ground. Simon hit him in the chest with his staff, several times actually, and Theodore knocked out his legs. Alvin helped Cash to his feet. " you ok?" ' I'm better now tat you're here. Guess Kate told you?" yep and I had Tom tell the boys." " Where is everyone?' " Best not to say in front of Kenny here." " got it." ' Well, leader boy, shall we finish this guy?"' " Let's do it." Simon pulled out one pellet. " Tear gas." He said as he threw it in Ken's face. Simon had made a series of pellets tat contained concentrates of the chemicals in things like tear gas and other things. Ken rubbed his eyes. " Arg! Son's of bitches!" all the boys punched him square in the jaw. ' Don't you dare call mom a bitch!" They shouted. They performed their old munk-fu moves. However, it was Alvin who did the chest stamp this time. Theodore round housed Ken's ribs, hearing a loud crack. Simon spun his staff around hi, smacking Ken in the face at least five times The last hit broke Ken's nose and knocked out a few teeth. Alvin then Paralyzed Ken's other arm with sai. Then, he bent over. " Cash!" Cash leapt off Alvin's back and drove his knee into Ken's face. Once down, Simon fed Ken a pellet. This one was a concentrated tranquilizer capsule. It worked instantly. " There he ought to be put for a few hours." Simon said. " You got a patent on those things?' Alvin asked. ' pending." Simon said. Then, dead tired, Cash collapsed. " Easy, Bro. We got you. Some body go tell them it's over and the other come with me to the hospital." Alvin said. Theodore went of to inform the others. Simon went with Alvin. They dragged Cash across the street, to his house, loaded him in his car and drove off. Simon cradled his fallen brother. " I've never seen him this bad off before." Simon said. " Yeah, I'll smack him good when he wakes up." " I don't think he needs any more abuse right now, Alvin." " Whatever. I'm still going to do. I told him.' Dave had been called and informed by Xavier. Everybody rushed over to the hospital in one of Xavier's stretch limo's. When they arrived, Katrina was the first one let in. Tom and Helen were kept out in the waiting room. Helen was being held and comforted by her aunts. " She's scared out of her wits. Poor thing. I think she caught a glimpse of her dad when we got here." Eleanor, the one holding her said. " she's never seen that much blood before." Jeanette said. " hey, Nelly, look at me. It's Aunt Brittany talking. You trust me, love me right?" Helen nodded.' Trust me, your dad will be fine. He's the toughest man on the planet. It would take something a lot worse than this to finish him off. He'll be alright, okay?" Helen nodded. " Well, stop crying and let's see a smile." Helen tried to smile. Tom stood in the corner and brooded. Eliza came over ' You ok?" " what do you care?!" Eliza smacked him. " Get a hold of your self. Your Thomas Oliver Seville. Son of Cash Seville, the toughest munk on the face of the earth. If you were like your dad, you'd be stronger. You want to be leader? Then toughen up!" Then she hugged him. 'And I do care. I love you. We may fight a lot, but I love you. Don't ever think I don't care." Olivia and Tony joined her. ' It's ok, Tom. We know you want to cry. Just let it out, you'll feel better." Olivia said. He grabbed Tony and sobbed. " Why ,man, why? This guys been gone for years! now he just comes back and does this! Why? Tell me!" " I can't, Tom. But, I can tell you this. We're your family. We love you and we support you. Everything will be alright, so long as we're together."" Your right, thanks."


	7. Chapter 7

New munks

Alvin's promise

By the next morning, Cash had woken up. The first thing to greet him was his son. " Morning dad." " Uh, morning." " Easy dad. Don't try to sit up." " I'm fine. I've always healed fast. Ow!" " Take it easy dad. Your ribs are pretty messed up." " Uh!' cash said, falling back onto his bed. Tom didn't seem to be able to look his father in the eye. " What's the matter?" Cash asked his son. ' I should have been there. I've been trained to fight guys bigger than me. I should have come back, regardless what uncle Alvin said." " No, Son. Trust me. I'll hazard a guess and say that Alvin told you that Ken was out of your league?" " Yeah, but, I think I could take him." " Tom, listen. This is your father talking. You know I'd never steer you wrong." ' yeah, I know." " Trust me. Ken is just ever so slightly out of my league. Always has been. Only by sheer force of will and determination, and a hell of a lot of luck, have I beat him before. So, if he's out of my league, he's definitely out of yours. Your tough, don't give get me wrong, you could probably give me a run for my money. But, then again, I'd probably be holding back. What's more, you saw him. How big he is. He was always twice as big as me and now that he's been taking those drugs all these years, he's three to four times bigger than me. And, I'm twice as big as you are. Just think about that." " Yeah but.." " Trust me, one day, I'll have you so ready that you'll be swatting guys like Ken away like flies. But, your just not ready. Not yet. Besides, fighting like that is a warrior's job. Your still in training, a warrior to be if you will. But for now, just enjoy being a kid. You can be a warrior later, ok?" " Ok. I'll try to let it go. But, once your better, I want to train harder than ever." Cash tousled his son's hair. " Heh, a chip off the old block. Ah, that's my boy." Tom grinned, the first honest smile on his face since yesterday. " Hmm, where's your mother?" " In the waiting room, fast asleep." " And Helen?" " Spending the night at uncle Alvin's." Cash nodded. Tom still looked a bit bummed. Cash put his hand on his son's shoulder and pulled him in close. " Hey, keeping the family safe is my job. I'm the dad. Your job is looking out for Helen, when your mom and I aren't around. And, looking out for your mom too when I'm not there. Deal?" " Deal." " Well, I see I'm all bandaged up, what say we go home?" " Can you?" ' There's still some kick left in this old bird." " Ah, Dad, your no where near old." " and thank God for that." The doctor cleared Cash to go home, on the condition that he agree not to do anything to taxing for the next few days. Tom roused Katrina. " Hey, mom, look who's up." " Honey." Katrina hugged and then kissed her husband. 'could you not do that in front of me?" " honey, I believe our son finds our displays of affection disgusting. " Cash said. Katrina drove to Alvin's. soon as she saw her father, Helen ran for him. " Daddy!" He softly held her, comforting her. " I was so worried daddy." " It's true, I was thinking about how to get her to sleep." Brittany said. She kissed cash's cheek. " Glad to see your ok." Eliza hugged her uncle. " You really alright?" " I'm just fine." "Tom cried." " O really?" " You suck, Liz." tom said. " aren't I a stinker?" " I've got half a mind to.." " Oh, you've got half a mind? Well, about time one of us admitted it." " Watch it. If you don't stop, I'll tell them all what you did to me yesterday. you know, the h.." " If you ever tell anyone that, I'll kill you." Eliza said. But, tuning around and heading for her mother, Liz gave Tom a quick wink." Alvin walked up and smacked Cash. ' I told Simon I'd do that." " At least no one can call you a liar."

New munks

Olivia's problem

A week later, Cash, proving he was still just as fast of a healer as he ever was, was resting peacefully at home. Cash had nodded off and Helen had joined him. Katrina had gone to see Heather about something important. Leaving Tom with nothing to do. He never thought he would say it, but, he wished his school was open. The school failed to meet building safety regulations and, with no other schools for the kids to go to, they were all sent home until the school was torn down and rebuilt. tom didn't want to train without his father, so he decided to go out. he left a note for his parents and went to the park, to practice his soccer drills. He, Tony, Olivia and Eliza were all on the soccer team. It was hard work, but at least it gave them something to do while school was out. they had their first tournament match in a few days. He ran around a bit, timing himself with a stop watch he picked up before he left. A familiar face, as familiar as his own, showed up. " Tommy!" It was Cash, but not his father. Cash was Heather and Jason's son, who had gotten married and had him just a few months after the munks had wed. tom's father Cash was this Cash's godfather and he had given his name to him, as Jason and Heather had asked. " hey Cash." " What are you doing here?" ' Practicing my soccer skills. Dad and Helen are asleep at home and Mom's out visiting, well, your mom." " Oh yeah." " What about you?" " Eh, pretty much the same deal. My dad has something to do over at the label and mom's just way into it with your mom. So, I'm here. hey, want me to help you? I could use the practice too." " Sure." Cash was also on the soccer team. Normally, he'd play goalie, so his offensive playing needed a bit of work. Tom was all to willing to pint this out after a while. " Man, I thought we were bros. I mean, I have your dad's name and he's my god dad, we are practically bothers." " We are, but, I'm just showing a little tough love." " Well, your tough love is going a bit to far." " sorry." ' It's cool. Hey, isn't that your cousin?" ' where?' ' Over there. By the tree." " Huh? Oh yeah, that is Libby. What's she doing here?" ' maybe she's getting ready to practice too?" " Her? Nah. She's just like aunt Eleanor. She's just to naturally good to practice. But, what's she reading?" " Hmm.. Judging by the overall shininess of the cover, I'd say it's Toddler beat magazine.'" How'd you know that?" " My cousin has a subscription." ' Oh. Huh, not like her to read stuff like that. Hmm, maybe it's got some article on cooking? she's always interested in that." " Maybe." Ring ring. " Huh? oh, my cell. Hang on just a sec, tom. hello? yeh mom, I'm at the park like I said. I'm with Tom. huh? Oh, ok. Yeah, sure. Okay, love you too, bye." " Well?' ' Sorry, man, I got to go. My mom says my dad just got home and we're going to the olive Garden to celebrate something. See you later." " Okay, see you. Now, just what is Libby up to? only one way to find out." Tom walked over to his cousin. When he was with in earshot, he heard something that made his heart sink. Olivia was crying. Now, Tom was close to his cousins. even if it was Eliza, Tom couldn't stand to see them cry. " Libby? Something wrong?" " Huh? Tommy, what are you doing here?" ' Practicing for soccer, but that doesn't answer my question." " I'm fine." ' Libby, I could hear you crying. I'm not just your cousin, I'm your friend, remember? you can tell me anything." " I'd rather not talk about it. I have to go. Bye." ' She left the mag here. Maybe something in here upset her? Here's the page she was reading…. Oh, Man. O boy, Tom old boy, you are up one big creek with no paddle. I'm going to need some advice here."

New munks

Tom to the rescue

Tom had read the magazine. On the page Olivia had been reading, he found a popularity poll. It was on them and the other chipmunks' kids. On a scale of on to ten, ten being the best, people surveyed were supposed to rate them. He and Eliza tied for first. Then, it was Helen. ' go Helen.' He thought. Then Ben and then Tony. Unfortunately, Olivia was dead last. Tom didn't know that what people thought of her meant so much to Olivia. He could pin it on Eliza, but not her. He talked to Helen about it first. " Oh, poor Libby. Well, you know what we got to do, right?" " Not really. You're the smart one, you tell me, litle sister." " Well, First, we got to talk to dad. Secondly, taking his advice in hand, we need to come up with a plan to raise her spirits." " Your right. man, am I glad you're the new aunt Jeanette." " Just less clumsy." She joked. the two went to their father. ' Daddy?' Helen asked.' Yes, honey?" " Can I talk to you seriously for a moment?" ' We already ordered that book you wanted.' ' Well, thank you. But, that's not it. We need advice." " Ok. What's your problem?" " Well, you see dad, I was at the park earlier." " I know, I read the note." " Right. Well, I was practicing my soccer drills and Cash shows up. We play each other for a bit and then He notices Libby sitting by herself. unfortunately for me, he had to go home in a rush, leaving me to deal with Libby alone." ' So, what's the matter?" " Well she wouldn't tell me. Just ran off after we talked for a bit. But, she was reading this magazine right here. Look at page nine, bottom right hand corner." Cash flipped to the page as his son instructed. He read the popularity poll. " Well, congrats on tying for first son. And Helen, second place, congrats to you too." ' yeah, that's great and all, but keep going." tom said. ' let's see. Tony.. Oh, I see. She's dead last. Man that sucks.' ' yeah, and we want to make her feel better, Daddy. That had to be a major blow to her ego. and, I know her better than anyone else here. Libby has a more fragile ego than she lets on. Eliza is worse, of course, but Libby does care.' " I see. so, this shattered her pride huh?" " Seems that way. But, we want to take care of this one. So, don't tell Uncle Theodore. But, could you give us some advice?" Tom asked. ' Let me think. I got it. The best thing for Olivia to do is face the personification of this problem And, since she's in the lead, I would guess that would be Eliza. You know, your aunt Jeanette had the same inferiority complex with your mom and Aunt Brittany once." ' Inferiority complex?" Tom asked. ' It means she had issues with how she looked or something as compared to Mom or Aunt Brittany." Right. she felt that she wasn't as prett as her sisters and came to me for help.' " What did you do?" " I gave her a song to sing. The song ' girl next door' by Saving Jane actually. I had her sing it and then told her how to beat her sisters in looks, hands down, in at least Simon's book." ' That sounds like a good plan." helen said. " I got an idea. Dad, do you have that song laying around?" ' Yeah, it's the song book. Were thinking about doing what Todd called an ' emotion album'. An album that would evoke emotion in people. Your welcome to copy it." " Thanks dad." " Thank you daddy." " Anytime guys." Later. " Okay, I got the copy. You got Liz's number on your phone right?" " yep." " Okay, call her and then give it to me." "okay." Ring ring. ' Hello?" " Liz." " Oh, hello Thomas." " Yeah yeah, we can fight later. We need to be serious for a minute. Could you come over tonight?" ' I guess, why?" " We need you for something. We'll tell you when you get here." ' Well, alright. Bye."


	8. Chapter 8

New munks

I'll help you

Eliza walked over to her uncle's after dinner. The short stroll never felt so long. She was growing increasingly worried. Tom never took the tone he had earlier very often. Not with her especially. And, him not wanting to fight a bit with her? That screamed that something was wrong. With each step, Eliza's heart sank closer and closer to her stomach, as the thoughts of what might be the problem played in her head." I pray Helen and Uncle Cash are ok. Maybe it's Aunt Katrina. Man, what could it be?" She thought out loud. After what really only took a few minutes, but felt like days, She reached the door. She was greeted by Helen. " Hey, thanks for coming. Tom's waiting upstairs." " Is everything alright Helen? Is somebody sick or something?" " No, we just need your help." Well, alright. Lead the way." They entered Tom's room. Like his uncle Alvin before him, Tom had posters of his favorite bands, the one of his own parents being the largest, up on the walls. He had his practice sword, a simple kendo wooden sword, hung up too. And, in the corner, sat his guitar and his computer desk, but the actual computer was off. She had never been in here before with it not on. The only time it wasn't on was when he needed to talk to her seriously. He was sitting on his bed, cross legged. " So, what's the big deal?" Liz asked. " Sit down." He said cooly. " Why should I?" " Please, Liz." Tom said, putting up no argument. Liz just shrugged and sat. Helen sat on the bed next to her brother. " Guess you want to know why we called for you?' " Uh, duh." "well, I believe this is yours." He said, handing her the magazine. It had her name and address on it, since it was her subscription. " Oh, thanks. I wondered why Libby hadn't brought it back after she borrowed it. Is that all?" " No, this is worse. How well did you read this before you let Libby borrow it?" Helen asked. " I read what interested me. Articles on my favorite celebrities and so on. And, I clipped a few coupons for my favorite clothing stores." " Read page nine. Bottom right corner.' Tom said. " Well, now I see what the problem is. Your right, Tom, this is bad. How could they possibly say that I'm just as good as you. I'm way better." Tom looked mad. " You don't get do you? Jesus your stuck up." " What did I do? I'm just teasing you." " Read Olivia's rank." Tom said, cooling off a bit. " Oh… Oh man. Libby… How could they? She's great. How could people not like her? She should at least be tied with somebody, not be last all alone. In my opinion, she should be tied with Helen." Yeah, me too. But, what we think doesn't matter, does it?" Tom said. " Well, we got to help her. We're her family. You got a plan?" " As a matter of fact, we do." " I'm all ears." " We asked dad for some advice." " Good old Uncle Cash." " Yeah. Well, he told us what he did when aunt Jeanette had a similar problem." " And?" " HE gave a song to sing, I guess to put her feelings into something she was comfortable expressing. Well, we got the same song right here. And, dad said that this problem might be personified as somebody who seems to be on a higher pedestal than her. Namely, you." " I'm the problem?" ' Think about it. According to this poll, you're a goddess and she's just some lowly creature. So, she feels inadequate around you. So, we want you to come with us tomorrow, so she can face her problem in your form. Giving something a physical form helps in the process of dealing with it. So, think you could?' Helen asked. " Of course. When?" ' after lunch. That's usually when everybody over there is feeling their best. The better she feels, the easier this'll be." Okay, I'll be over around lunch. Night."

New munks

Facing it

"I'm ugly. Let's face it, after mom, there's no room for the heavy set girl in the group anymore. No one likes me. My own band mates, my family, they don't like me. How could they? I'm ugly, I'm so heavy, and I'm bucked toothed… Ok, maybe we're all buck toothed, but…" Olivia complained. All through the night she had had nightmares. One that seemed particularly real, had her on stage and she begins singing. However, though she seemed to be everything right, people begin to boo and her own family shoos her off stage. This one had woken her this morning at 8. She just laid in bed, softly crying. At one point, getting worried about her, Theodore and Ben came to check on her. " You alright sis?" " I'm fine." " You sure, honey? Your eyes are red. Have you been crying?" Theodore asked. ' A little." " What's the matter?" Olivia thought of a convincing lie. " I was thinking about a dish I would like to make. You have to cut up onions for it and just the thought of cutting up onions makes me cry." Lucky for Olivia, her father and brother bought it. " So, why didn't you come down for breakfast?" " I guess I overslept." " Well, alright. Well, come down for lunch, ok?" " Alright, Daddy.' Olivia didn't like lying to them, but she didn't want to run the risk of finding out if her fears were true. At about 12:15, ten minutes after Theodore and crew had eaten, Eliza, Tom and Helen arrived. " Oh, hey guys. Olivia's upstairs in her room and Ben's watching old Godzilla movies." Eleanor said. ' Would you like something to eat?" " Um, I guess." Tom said. " Well, what do you want?" ' um, I'd like a sandwich. Roast beef please." Tom said. " Make that two." Eliza said. " Helen?" Eleanor asked. " I'm not really hungry. Just some grapes or something will be plenty." " Alrighty. Oh, I can melt some cheese down on top of the roast beef, make it kind of like the sandwich's at arby's. Would you two like that?" ' Sure." They said. " Oh, and I think we have celery sticks and baby carrots, and some cucumber too. I'll make a little snack tray and you can dip them in this really good dip we have. Oh, and we have one other thing, where is my brain today? We have summer sausage, which the kids love, so I'll cut some of that up too. And, if I'm not mistaken, we have tortilla chips and salsa." " What kind of salsa?" tom asked, the greatest Mexican food lover in the family, next to Theodore. " Um, well, we have nacho cheese dip, I know that. And, I think the salsa is mild." " Can I get some of those chips and a little cup of the salsa and cheese dip with my sandwich?" " of course dear. Now, no more beating around the bush, what are you here for exactly? Don't get me wrong, we love visits." " We're here to see Olivia. We need to go over some things for our soccer team with her. Helen's just tagging along." Eliza said, showing her talent for lying that she got from her father. " Ok. Well, she's in her room." ' Thanks aunty Eleanor." Helen said. Eleanor just loved being called that. The only thing she liked more was being called mommy by Olivia. ' Olivia? You in here?" Eliza said." Eliza! I can't let Miss perfect see me like this!" She thought. " Just a second!" Olivia tried to straighten up her hair and make herself look presentable. She blinked her brown eyes rapidly, trying to moisten them again and to make them not look red. When she thought she looked ok, she let them in. ' hey guys. What's up?" Eliza came and sat on Olivia's bed. " She knows, Libby. We all do. We read that popularity poll." Helen said. " How did you?" " You left at the park yesterday." Tom said. " And they think you have a problem with me, since I'm at the top of the list."

New munks

Setting her straight

" Oh God!" Olivia thought. She turned red, since her secret was let out. But, after she calmed a bit, she became depressed. " I don't have a problem with you, just the idea of you compared to me. Look at you. Your perfect. Perfect hair, perfect skin. You look good in almost anything. And, at school, it's like you have to beat the guys off with a stick. And, then, there's me. I'm an ugly little troll. Short, heavy set.. Just plain ugly. My hair never works right and I don't look good anything but green and my soccer uniform. And, the only attractive feature seem to have is my eyes, and that's only landed me one boyfriend, and we all know how long that lasted." Eliza had heard enough. Imitating what she had done with tom at the hospital, she sprang from the bed and slapped Olivia. " Ow, what was that for?" " For calling yourself ugly. For the troll comment. Take your pick." " But…" " If you put yourself down again, I'll slap you again. And I'll keep slapping you until you stop. Listen, you aren't ugly. You are a beautiful young lady, just like me. Now, I'll admit your hair might be an issue, but let me tell you my secret. I use a certain shampoo. Stuff works miracles. I once went two or three days with out it. My hair became such a mess of tangles and what not, that I couldn't do anything with it. So, that's when I wore that reddish-pink colored hat for three days straight. If you want, I got a few extra bottles. You can have it. Just follow the directions and presto, perfect blonde hair." " Well, thanks I guess. But, what about my wei.." " Berate yourself and I'll hit you. What do you weigh?" " 85 pounds." " If I'm not mistaken, the average weight range for an eight year old girl is 40-80 pounds." Helen said. " What?! Your just five pounds over weight and your beating yourself up for it?" " But look how fat I look." " that's just baby fat." Tom said. " And, your not fat. Under normal circumstances, fat people are slow and not good at sports. You're the right weight for your body type." ' But I'm fat compared to Eliza." " Libby, look at me. If 40-80 pounds is average, then I'm way under weight. I weigh 30 pounds. Being under weight isn't healthy. You, your healthy. Me, I should eat more and not be so fashion conscious. That's why I admire you. You don't care what some magazine says, most of the time, and you just do what makes you happy. The magazines might say that being skinny is best but, it actually hurts you. I have no where near as much stamina as you. Look at me on the soccer field. After a good solid hour of playing, I'm worn out already. But, you, your going like we just started playing. Tell you what. If this whole weight thing is bothering you that bad, I'll go home right now and down as much pop as sugar as I can get my hands on. I'll keep putting on the pounds until I weigh as much as you." " But, such drastic weigh gain, and so quickly, we only hurt you." Helen said. ' I don't care. If it's for family, bring on whatever may happen." " Would you really do that?" Olivia asked. ' Of course. You're my cousin, and best friend." Eliza hugged her. " your skin is nice and soft, because it's healthy. Feel mine. It's some what soft, but it's kind of leathery. Now, if I was at a healthy weight, my skin would be soft and supple too." " Eliza…" Olivia said. " what?" " I couldn't let you potentially hurt yourself over me." " Ok, then I'll agree to gain, oh, a healthy 20 pounds or so." " Hey, I weigh fifty pounds." Helen said. " right and that'll make me healthy and won't potentially hurt me. Deal?" " Thanks you guys. Just knowing how much you care makes me feel better. Thanks for setting me straight." " Ha, we didn't even need the song." Tom said.


	9. Chapter 9

New munks

Announcement

After returning home, Tom received a call from Cash Diggs. " Hey man, guess what?" " I don't know, what?" " Come on guess." " I can't read minds, Cash." ' We're heading over to your grandpa Dave's."' That's nice." Your going too. After my mom asked everyone last night, everybody is supposed to be there in… well, five minutes from now." " Well, alright. I'll see you there." Five minutes later, everyone was gathered at Dave's house. ' Well, com on, what's the big deal?" Cash asked Jason. " Well, we wanted to let you know, since you are all like family, some more than others ( She looks at Cash and Katrina, her son's godfather and godmother), we wanted to let you all know. I'm pregnant." Heather said. Katrina smiled, as she already knew, since she and Heather tell each other everything. " How long?" Alvin asked. " Eight weeks. Seven months from now, there will be a new diggs." " Well, congrats guys.' Cash said. ' So, Cash.. Man it sounds like I'm talking to my self, do you like the idea of being an older brother?"" Course. Now, I can be like tom with Helen." Tom shot him the thumbs up while putting his arm around Helen. " Now, we have something important to ask you all.' Jason said. " Now, we've been thinking and, we've decided it's always best to have a plan b or c. So, we'd like to rework Cash's godparents situation. Cash and Kate are still lead, but, god forbid, if something were to happen to them.. Alvin, Simon, Theodore, could all be back up Godfathers?' " We'd be honored.' Simon said. The other two nodded. " And, Brittany, Jeanette, Eleanor, would you be his back up and the new babies godmothers?" " Of course." Eleanor said. " Don't worry, Cash, Katie, for both kids your still the lead godparents, we just want to take all the precautions we can.' Jason said. Cash nodded. ' So, thought of names yet?" Alvin asked." Well, that's the other thing we wanted to ask you. Heather had a dream that told her the baby is a girl. We went to the doctor yesterday to be sure, and they said that. Though it's still early, they are pretty sure it is a girl. We want you to help us with names." Jason said. " I got one. How about Samantha?" Eliza said. ' Joann, how about that?" Olivia asked. ' May I place my input?" Helen asked. ' Of course sweetie, this is basically a round robin discussion. You know what that is?" Heather asked. ' heather, Helen's the new Jeanette. She and Tony are walking text books. In other words, she's extremely intelligent for her age, of course she knows." Cash said, running his had, proudly, through his daughter's jet black mane. " Well, what's your idea?" Jason said. ' Well, you named your son after my daddy. Why not name your daughter after my mom?" " Cash and Katrina?" " No. Another name. My mom's middle name, Ginger." " Hmmm, Ginger. Ginger Diggs. Hmm, with the right middle name, it would be perfect." Heather said. " How about LeAnn?" Eliza said. " LeAnn? How do you spell it?" " Capital L, little e, capital A and then two small n's." " Like this?' Jason asked, after writing it on a scrap of paper. ' Yep." ' Hmm. Ginger LeAnn Diggs." Jason said, as he filled out the rest of the name. " I like it." He said. " Me too." Cash, Jason's son, said. ' Then that's it. Thank you girls." " your welcome." Later, as the moms made dinner and the dads shot pool, the kids watched TV. ' Hey, Liz?" Tom asked. ' Yeah?" ' How'd you come up with that?" " I don't know. It just kind of popped in my head." " So, in other words, your just weird?" Tom joked. ' Shut up." " you can't tell me what to do." ' I'm oldest, yes I can." " Here they go again." Tony whined. " Just ignore it." Olivia said.

New munks

The oldest foes

" So, they've gotten married and had kids huh? Spoiled brats." A woman, with dull blonde hair said. " Ever since that Alvin beat us years ago, you've been Obsessed, Claudia." A man, with black hair with ever growing white streaks in it, said. " Quiet Claus. We will have our vengeance. Fourteen bloody years we've spent clawing our way back to the top. We now have the power and resources to destroy them once and for all." Claudia said. Claus didn't argue with his sister. Claudia always got what she wanted and nothing would stop her, except maybe getting killed. But ,then again. She may just keep going after death. She had always been this way, as far back as he could remember. ' Whatever you say.' He said. " Now, which one?" She asked. " Huh? " " We must lure them out. Now, which of the children do we take?" " we have enough henchman, why not all of them?' Claus asked. ' I like how you think, dear brother. Yes, all of them. Show them we mean business. Yes. I love it." Claudia began to cackle as they drove away. They had witnessed the fight between Cash and Ken. Claudia clapped every time Ken had done something that appeared to greatly injure Cash. It was by their doing that Ken was not arrested. Though paralyzed, and unconscious, Ken was never found by the police. That was because they had taken him and moved him somewhere the cops wouldn't find him and left him there to recover. They had been watching for some time. They had made friends that also hated the munks, although Ken was still unaware of the whole group. Claus and Claudia were just two of it's members. Others included Ian Hawke and the two mysterious leaders that no one had scene the faces of. Harry had been offered to join, but, he had meet a lovely young chipmunk named Charlene. Eight years ago, he and Charlene had settled down and Harry gave up his old ways, to some extent. He still picked pockets from time to time, unbeknownst to Charlene. He had met her while in prison. She was his shrink. After his six year sentence, the two dated for a while and then married. What happened after that was unknown to the group. But, frankly, they didn't care. Claus and Claudia, however, took full advantage of everything the group could provide. Resources, men, weapons. Every little thing. They had been climbing back up the ladder so slowly after they were defeated and arrested, thanks to Alvin and Brittany. They had only attained half the prestige the had before then, and, after losing to Alvin, they dropped to a quarter. But, after meeting this group, the had been restored to their full glory. That had been five years ago. Now that the group all agreed they were ready to take on the munks again, they divided up certain amounts of time each member, or members, were allowed to try their hand at the munks. They thought of it as a game. ' Who can kill the munks first?" Everyone was free to chose when they would strike. Claus and Claudia had chosen now. Ian said he would wait and see what happened and then modify his plans based on how well Claus and Claudia's try went. What every member knew, however, was that the group had significant pull and no one would ever be arrested. With all this at their disposal, the munks were lucky to be so blissfully unaware. " Claus, you idiot, drive. This van isn't as inconspicuous as one might think. At least not while hanging out in a neighborhood like this." " Yes Claudia. Now, when do we make the grab?" ' Soon, very soon.' " We are only given a month. If we don't hurry, it will be Ian's turn.' " Fear not, we'll be the winners of the game. We just need to chose the right moment."


	10. Chapter 10

New Munks

Testing

" Ha-ha, devoured you again." Eliza cried. Tom and the gang were hanging out at a family friend's arcade. His name was Jesse Talbot. Fourteen years ago, he was ten years old and living in an orphanage. That's when Larry and Raya Talbot came and adopted him. Raya could not have children and he caught their eye. Larry, a former were-wolf, and Raya, a TV psychic. Now, Jesse was twenty-four and owned one of the most successful arcades in the area. But, even though his arcade had the basics like skee ball, assorted fighting games, pool, and air hockey, it had something that made it interesting. Jesse had a natural talent for building arcade games, programming, hardware, everything from the ground up and had several games he had made in his arcade. Since he was a life long friend of the new munks, he let them come in and eat, drink soda, and play games on the house. He also used them to test his games. Today, he had them test a game with the working title of " zombie fighters". The premise was that people, normal humans, have power over the zombies and use them in various ways. One such way is having them compete, fight, for their amusement. Players would select a zombie from a cast of twenty to fight as. All the zombies were based off real life, and of course deceased, warriors. They ran the gambit from boxers to swordfighters. They didn't bear the names of the real person, but how they were modeled and what their names are ere close enough to tell who they were supposed to be. The greatest feature, in Jesse's mind, was the devour button. When somebody beat the other person's health bar completely out, the game, similarly to mortal combat, would tell the player o ' devour them'. At this point hey would press a button, located on the side of their side of the machine, and the zombie would perform it's own unique devour move. The Bruce Lee knock off, which Eliza continued to whip Tom's Mohammed Ali knock off with, would kick the enemy's head off, grab it in mid-air, a and then munch on it like an apple. " You know, this game rocks Jesse." Eliza said. " Okay, one out of two isn't bad, but, let's be greedy. What do you think Tom?" Jesse asked. ' Well, I like, it's a wacky, but solid premise and fun as all heck to play. I just wish I could land the last blow before her!" " You keep getting close." Jesse said. " but in a real fight, close doesn't cut it. 'close, but no cigar.' stuff like that in a real fight gets you killed." Tom said. " More of that samurai stuff?" Jesse asked. Tom glared at Jesse. If anybody, no matter who they were, had even the tiniest bit of tone in their voice that hinted that they didn't respect Samurai traditions or at least try to understand them, he shot them that glare. He was very hardcore about the whole deal. " Hey, chill. I respect samurai, you know that. I was just asking. I didn't mean to come off that way." Jesse felt weird. To apologize to some one who was so young, felt odd, and at the same time, it was like apologizing to your boss. No doubt, Tom demanded a certain level of respect and the only one who could get away with not showing it was Eliza. ' Well, just watch it. Or, I'll start ripping on were-wolves." " You know about that?" " Our parents have told us lots of things. Stories of their adventures. And, since they never lie to us, we believe them. yeah, we know." Tom said. " Well, what about the title?" " I think people come in and look for a game they can sink their teeth into, no pun intended. .Point is, if the title reflects what the games about, people will play it. That's why people who like fighting games, look for games with titles that hint at fighting. So, it'll work. I wouldn't change it."

New munks

Now!

" Now is the time. They are vulnerable. And, only one adult to protect them. Go!" Claudia demanded. Claus sent several men out. They entered the shop. " Can I help you guys?' Jesse asked. " Yeah, we're here for them." One of the men said. " Your not their.. Urk." Jesse was hit over the head with one of the bottles on the bar. He reached under the bar and pulled out the baseball bat he hid there. He cracked one of the guys in the head. " Run, guys!" He proceeded to fight as hard as he could. But, four of seven men proceeded to beat him into the floor. Tom made a grab for a mop. He jabbed who seemed to be the lead goon in the back of the head. The man just turned around, seemingly annoyed. " Stupid!" Tom cried. " Simon's the staff fighter. Tony, think you inherited your dad's fighting powers?' " Maybe." " Here!' He tossed him the mop. Eliza and Olivia picked the legs of the wooden chairs that Jesse had been slammed through. " Well, they aren't tonfa or sai, but they'll work." Eliza said. Tom picked up the baseball bat. The eldest munks stood in front of their fallen friend and younger family members. Helen and Ben tried to awaken Jesse. " Jesse, Jesse, get up." Helen said. Tom and the others put up a valiant struggle. They actually managed to defeat the seven, however, Claus and Claudia had plenty more. Eventually, there was twenty men standing over their battered bodies. Helen and Ben tried to defend them, but, two goons chopped their necks, knocking them out. " My, my. They were little toughies, weren't they?" Claudia said. " Just like their parents." Claus said. " Well, load them up." Claus said. " Yes sir." Two men a piece picked the young munks up and carried them out to the large vans. Jesse was coming to. Claudia stomped on his gut. ' listen up, you electro-junky, we're not going to kill you. We don't even have plans to kill the children, at least for now. But, if you can remember after they take you to the hospital, send their parents a message. We'll meet them at our house. They know which one." " Who.. Who are you?" ' Some one who like to slice open the throats of those little bastards and bitches!" she said, kicking Jesse hard in the ribs. " Call him an ambulance. As for us, we got to make preparations." Claudia said. Claus made the call. ' Don't say we never did anything for you." A half hour later, Jesse had his parents standing over him. " Oh my baby.' Raya said. Jesse came to. ' Honey, it's mom. Can you talk?" Raya asked. " Yeah. Oh, god! Where are they?'" Who son?" Larry asked. " Dad, please, get a hold of the Seville's." " Which ones?" " All of them! Cash, Kate, Al, Britt… All the chipmunks. Now!" Larry did as requested. " Oh my god. Jesse, are you alright?" Jeanette asked. " How I am is the least of your concerns. We have a major problem. Some men came into the arcade , looking for the kids. When I was about to only you could pick them up, they beat me up like this. The kids, at least from what I can remember, put up a hell of fight. Fighting like, well, like you. They.. I'm so sorry." " What happened son?" Larry asked. ' I tried to protect them. But, They took them." " Who!?" the munks demanded. ' All the men I think were just cronies, but there were to leads. One was this old bitch, talked with an English or something accent, and had this dull blonde hair. The other was a man, with black hair, and it had white streaks on the side." " Claus and Claudia.' Alvin said." I thought they were locked up." Brittany said. ' They got out some how." " Where do they want us? They're using the kids as bait. Bait we can't help but take. Where are they?" cash asked." At their house. They said you'd know the one."


	11. Chapter 11

New munks

Roulette

" Now girls, we'll get them out, don't worry. You should just stay out here. We'll send them out just as soon as we get them free. Then I'm gonna crack those two idiots' heads open." Cash said. All the parent chipmunks were standing around the front gate of the mad jewel smuggler's house. The boys had their old weapons clenched tightly in their hands. " No way in hell. Those are our babies, just the same as they are yours. We're coming too." Brittany said. The others nodded. " We can't stop you, can we?" Alvin asked. " You can try." Brittany said. " Let's get in there, Simon. We have our baby to save." Jeanette said. The only time Jeanette showed this much courage was when she was intent on protecting those closest to her. ' Right." Simon said to his wife. " And, Cash?' Katrina said to her husband. " Yes?" " You don't kill them until I get break a few bones. They'll pay for messing with my babies." Katrina then proceeded to join the other mother munks in trying to open the gate. " Dude, sometimes she scares me." Alvin said. " Don't forget, she's your sister-in-law. Now, let's go crack some skulls and get our kids back." " Here they come, Claudia. Ah, no one said they'd be armed." " Only half of them are armed. Besides, we have the numbers advantage. Boys!" the men prepared, grabbing base ball bats and chains and such. As soon as the door opened, they attacked. " Son of a.." Alvin let out as a chain came just an inch away from striking his foot. " Typical. If you can't defend yourself on your own, you hire a bunch of goons to do your dirty work." Simon said. Claudia just laughed and retreated to the back of the house. ' kill them." She said as she left. The men circled around. " You guys have no idea how much trouble your in. Those are our kids and you have no idea what a mad chipmunks parent can do." Eleanor said. A chain, with a solid steel ball at the end, was thrown at her. Theodore blocked it. " You find a way to get to our kids, we'll handle the butt kicking." He said. The girls attempted to do just that. " Out of my way!" Cash cried. After ten minutes of clanging steel, dropping chains, and loud sickening smacks and bone breaking sounds, the scene looked like the pg-13 version of the big battle at the end of kill bill. Lots of guy laying around hurt, but not as much blood, and no limbs slashed off. Finally the girls found the right door. As they ran down the hall, the thoughts of what these sickos could be doing to their kids was driving the parents closer and closer to the breaking point. Closer and closer to ' that' point. " Claudia!" Alvin cried as they burst through the door. " Hold it right there, you little freaks. One more step and blow this little cuties brains out!" " Eliza!" Eliza had a gun pressed to her head by Claudia. " Leave her alone you sick.." Claus struck Tom in the back of the head before he was able to finish. Eliza had tears streaming down her face. ' Please, don't kill me!" " Just hang in there, Liz. We'll figure out a way." Tony said. That earned him a smash to the head. ' Stop it!" Olivia cried. And she got a thump too. Ben wept, scared to death. " Let them go. Leave our kids out of this." Alvin said. " I can't do that. I want to see you suffer. there's one bullet in this gun. every time you come near me, I'll pull the trigger. Let's see how many steps you can take away from that door, before this cuties head goes splat!" " Claudia, please. We're begging you. You want us? You got us. But, please, just let the kids go." Cash stepped half way into the room. Claudia didn't pull the trigger, as she liked where this was going. His brothers and sisters followed him. They all knelt before her. " We surrender."

New munks

Darkness

" Come on Dad! Don't give up! Your quick. You could slice this psycho's arm off before she could even get close to shoot Liz. Come on, do it!" Tom cried. " They can't do anything, Tom. They're too scared that there might be a chance that… you know. They can't do anything." Tony said sounding defeated. " Then, we got to do something! There has to be a way. Where there's a will, right?" Tom then got an idea. " Liz!" He whispered. While Claudia had Claus smack their parents around, enjoying the fact that she had brought them to their knees, Liz turned around a bit. " Bite her." Tom mouthed. Liz leaped up and bit as hard as she could into Claudia's hand. " Now!" Tom said. The kids, still battered and sore from their fight, got up and charged into Claus and Claudia. Tony and Tom made contact with Claus, while Olivia and Ben knocked Claudia over. Helen jumped at Claus and bit his hand as he tried to strike her brother. " Sons of bitches!" Claudia cried as she smacked Liz o the floor and pistol whipped her. This got Alvin and Brittany angry. Claus began Choking Helena and kicked Tom, while he punched Tony repeatedly. That got Jeanette, Simon, Cash, and Katrina's blood boiling. Finally, They threw the six into the wall and pulled out large machine guns. " That's it! I'm tired of these little brats. Kill them!' Claus just did as his sister commanded. As they were about to fire, they heard snarling. They turned and the kids raised their heads. There stood their parents, looking as they had never seen them look before. They had claws, fangs, the hair on the men's necks was standing up and the girls hair had gone wild. Their eye narrowed and they had a clear intent of killing Claus and Claudia on their faces. " O, Not again.' Claus mumbled. The girls leaped at Claudia and the boys jumped onto Claus. They mercilessly clawed and punched, bit and scratched, tearing into the brother and sister. The kids watched as Blood began leaking from the numerous wounds on the duo, wounds their parents had inflicted. Sensing they had knocked out the brother and sister, the munks closed in on them, looking like they were going to eat them. " Stop it!" Dave cried. He, Xavier, Vinny, and Ms. Miller had just arrived. ' Ohh God. Not the dark munks." Ms. Miller said. ' They haven't used that power for years. Think they have any control?" Cash charged Dave. Xavier, knocked Dave out of the way. ' That answer your question? If they had any control, do you think they'd attack us?" The eight munks prepared to strike down their parents and grandfather. The kids ran to defend their grandparents from their parents. Tom picked up Cash's sword, Eliza had Alvin's sai, Olivia had Theo's tonfa, and Tony had Simon's staff in hand. Helen and Ben held their arms out in front of their grandparents. " Mom, dad, please, don't make us use these on you. Don't make us hurt you. We love you." Tom said. Tom held the sword in both hands, straight in front of him. Tears were streaming down his face. " Come on, Dad. It's me, Tom. You know me right?" " Daddy?" Eliza asked Alvin. ' Mom? Dad?" Olivia asked. " Mother, father, please!" Tony begged. "tom then stepped forward. ' Dad, please. I don't want to, but if you try to hurt them, I won't stop." Helen moved to her father and mother. She hugged the both of them, as tight as she could. " That's it. Love. Show them love and they snap back to normal." Dave said. The kids hugged their parents. The munks reverted to normal, shaking their heads. Everyone was distracted by this and didn't notice some representatives of the group haul Claus and Claudia away.

New munks

What was that?

Everybody returned home. The boys, as it always happened to them after a transformation, lost consciousness and were admitted to the hospital with exhaustion. For some reason, tough it tired the girls, it didn't knock them out. That night, all the kids had nightmares. Incredibly, it was the same dream for everyone, except each had some differences. The dream went something like this. The kid having the dream was in a dark area. No light anywhere, except for directly around them. Then, their parents would appear, changed. Then, their cousins and siblings, in Tom and Olivia's cases, appeared and they were changed as well. Hen, one of them would step towards them For Eliza, it was Tom, and vice-versa for Tom. Helen also had Tom. Ben had Olivia, and Olivia had Ben. Tony had Helen, as he respected her more than anyone else, because her being equal to him in the brains department. All said roughly the same. ' Come on, join us. You know you want this." Then, as they screamed for the apparition to go away, the image of themselves changed appeared. " You know you want it. Come on, let me eat you. Just open yourself up. Let me eat you and all this power will be yours. You'll be unstoppable. Come on." " No, I don't want it." " Oh, but you do. A part of you does." " How do you know?" " Because, I'm the part that wants. I want to be let out!" ' Your not me!" " Oh but I am. The very darkest part. And, you can only hold me down for so long. One day.. I'LL DEVOUR YOU!" Their evil side would then leap at them and they would scream awake into the real world. Katrina ran into hall. Helen was next to her door, sobbing into Tom's chest. " It's okay. It's okay." He consoled her. " It was just a bad dream." " But, didn't you have the same dream?' ' Well…" " You alright?" Katrina asked. "you wouldn't eat us, would you mom?" Tom asked. " why would I do that?" " That other you would." " No, she won't. I won't let her." Tom held Helen to him, keeping her away from their mother. He couldn't say it, but his mother still scared him. Katrina forced past him and hugged the both of them. " Hey, bad mommy is gone. I'm here. I won't let her hurt you, not ever." " I know. We know. But, just what was that?" ' Well, you could say it's the very darkest part of me. All my anger, turned into a monster. For some reason, when we chipmunks get really, really, REALLY mad, that anger can turn us into monsters. But, do you know why we changed?" " Cause you were angry?" Helen asked, finally calming a little. The kids were no longer afraid of their mother, but curious. ' Yes and do you know why we were mad?" " Umm…" " Cause they were hurting you. That made us mad and they pushed us to far. See, though we can't control it, we use this power to protect ourselves and you from extreme situations." Tom nodded and so did Helen. All the kids told their parents about the dream. The mothers then kissed their kids foreheads and tried to make them feel better. Eliza was still sobbing in her room, so incredibly scared of her inner evil eating her. But, sure enough, she wandered into her mother's room. She gazed at her mother. She was normal now and wouldn't dream of hurting her. " Did that change really come from her being mad that they were hurting us?" She was still crying and her body was begging her to find comfort. She roused her mother. Brittany was a notoriously deep sleeper and had not woken up from her daughter screaming. ' What's the matter baby?" " I had a bad dream." ' Oh, it was just a dream. Dreams can't hurt you." " But, this one had an evil me in it and she said she'd eat me."


	12. Chapter 12

New munks

Nothing's going to harm you

Eliza told her mother about the dream. " Mommy1 I'm so scared. I'm so scared that she will eat me!" Eliza sobbed. Brittany sat up and pulled her daughter to her. " Hey, hey. It's alright. Your ok, I'm here." " Mommy." Eliza sobbed into her mother. " She only calls me mommy when she's really upset.' Brittany thought. " Here, get in bed with me. Just sleep here tonight." Eliza complied. Brittany moved over to what was usually Alvin's side and let Eliza into her usual spot. Eliza could still be heard crying. She asked why Brittany changed. Brittany explained how it worked. " But, could it eat you?" " I don't think so. I'm a bit to strong for it."" But I'm a lot younger and weaker than you. My monster will eat!" Eliza began to sob harder than Brittany had ever saw. Her daughter was thoroughly freaked out. " And why shouldn't she be? She just had gun to her head and saw her parents and aunts and uncles turn into monsters. I have to comfort her." Brittany laid her arm around her daughter, doing a laying down hug. " Hey, your alright. She can't hurt you. Remember, it's a part of you. A part that we all wish wasn't there, but it is. But, it's still a part of you. That means it's just like… Well, like you arm. It has to do what you say. If you have the dream again, just say ' hey, you're a part of me. That means you have to do what I say. My body, my rules.' Okay?" " Okay." Eliza said, rolling over so she could face her mother. Brittany kissed the top of her daughter's head and rubbed the kiss into her head slightly. Eliza was coiled into a little ball in her mom's arms. Brittany began to sing to comfort her. " Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around. Nothing can touch you, not while I'm around." Eliza began to nod off. The scene was basically the same at the other houses. All the moms had to admit, they felt like their insides were on fire. This is how the change affected them. They didn't pass out, but their whole body, including their insides, felt like they were burning. " I hope she doesn't notice it." Brittany thought. She looked at her daughter's uber cute face. ' Something so precious doesn't deserve to be put through things like this." She thought. Dave felt about the same way. So, he made a call to Todd. " what's up Dave?" " Listen Todd.' Dave told what happened. ' well, thank God they're alright. But, what do you think we should do so this doesn't happen again?" " Well, I was thinking we could put out an add for a body guard and have him or her be undercover as a member of the back up band. Play guitar or something." " Oh, that's brilliant Dave. We'll tell the munks. That ought to make them feel better." " Right." ' You are a genius, my friend." Todd said. " I try." " Alright, I'll put in the ad tomorrow morning, first thing. Night." " Night." And, that is exactly what he did. A particularly interesting candidate got his hands on one of the ads. ' hmm, the chipmunks eh? Well, I love their music, and I do need a job." He went to the label office, where Dave, Cash, Todd, Simon, Jeanette and Katrina were waiting to interview the candidates. They examined the young man. He wore an olive drab colored shirt, with a matching base ball cap. The cap was turned around backwards. He also wore camo colored cargo pants. He was a decently tall man. Looked to be five foot nine. He was also slim, but was in great shape. He clearly didn't just work out, he trained his body. His blonde hair stuck out a just a bit under the cap. He was also very professional. He greeted each of them, looking eyes with his rough, but also some how gentle, blue eyes. And, with every question they asked him, made eye contact and answered truthfully.

New munks

Adrian

" Alright, Mr. McNab." Dave said. ' Please, call me Adrian." " Alright. Adrian, why do you want this job?" " Well, sir, I moved here from my old home in England a few years back. My father died and my mum and I couldn't afford to continue living where we did. We had family here in Hollywood and moved in with them. I'd like to have this job, in order to earn my way to the money I need to buy a nice house for at least my dear mum to live in." " Haven't you sought financial aid or something like that?" Simon asked. ' No sir. My father always said " don't take from society, what you know you can earn yourself.' I do believe I can accomplish this on my own." ' That's a good attitude to have in life. " Never say die' eh? Your just like my husband." Katrina said, gesturing to Cash. "May I say, sir, you are a lucky man to have such a beautiful wife." " I know. I think that every time I get up in the morning." Katrina blushed. " ah, now look, we've embarrassed her." cash said. " Well, Adrian. We have this plan you see. There's a reason that the flyer said that you must be able to play an instrument. Do you play?" Todd asked." Yes sir. I play guitar." " Know your way around an electric guitar?" Cash asked." I've never used one, but if it's similar to a regular one, I believe I can manage." " Good. Now, that is actually a cover. A 'day job' if you will. The real job is being a body guard for the chipmunks kids. When your not playing back up for their parents, you'll be watching the kids." ' I am good with kids, sir. Do you have any pictures of them?" " Right here." Dave said, pulling out his wallet. He flipped open his wallet and went over each grandchild. ' This is Tom. He, along with his cousin Eliza, are kind of the unofficial leaders of these six, sense they are the oldest. He is Cash and Katrina here's son. This is his little sister, Helen. She's very brainy and into everything, in an effort to learn more." " She is very pretty. She takes after her mother I see." " Yep. This is Eliza right here. She and Tom get into it a lot, arguing and such. We believe they really do care about each other, it's just their egos are too big to coexist for more than a short period of time. She is Alvin and Brittany's daughter. Here's a picture of them." Adrian nodded. ' This is Olivia. She's very maternal and out of all of them, looks after the youngest members the most. This is her little brother, Ben. He is the kindest soul you'll ever meet. These are their parents, Theodore and Eleanor. Last but not least, there's Tony. He, along with Helen, is the brains of the out fit. He can't see a thing with out his glasses, so if your looking after him, keep an extra pair with you just incase. He is the son of Jeanette and Simon here." " They look like fine kids. But, why would they need protecting?" " Your sharp. Well, you see, their parents have a heroic nature." " We're not heroes dad, we just do what's right. Now, that puts us in a heroic light, but we're just doing the right thing." Cash said. " Dad?" Adrian asked." All the boys, Cash, Alvin, Simon and Theodore, are brothers. Katrina, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor are sisters. I adopted the boys when their mother couldn't take care of them doing a harsh winter. Cash came along after his first human father, Agito Ikebana, died. That was fourteen years ago. He girls all came from Australia. Katrina was separated from her sisters by poachers. She escaped and was raised by a Mrs. Choy for 13 years. Finally, these two found their siblings. Katrina moved in with her sisters' adoptive mother, Ms. Rebecca Miller, and Cash moved in with me and the boys. Cash, as the others had before him, made with piece with his mother. She lives with a Mr. Xavier Franklin, a former poacher. He was one of the two poachers that took Kate, but he saw the light and atoned for his sins. Now, he's like a father figure to Vinny, the boys mother, and a grandpa to her sons and daughter-in-laws. He's also great grandpa to their kids." Adrian nodded. " So, what do they need protecting from? This heroic nature of their parents?" " In a way, yes. You see, fourteen years ago, the chipmunks butted heads with several unsavory characters. We believe that these individuals still hold it against the munks, and as this recent fiasco has shown, are not afraid to kidnap the kids to get to the parents. Now, all the older kids inherited their father's fighting abilities. Tom can use swords, just like Cash and is being trained to be more effective by him. Eliza can use Sai like her father. Tony is a staff fighter, just like Simon, and Olivia fights with Tonfa, just like Theodore. Short version, they can hold their own. They fought off the goons that kidnapped them for a while, but they outnumbered them. Then, they took them to Claus and Claudia, the two responsible. These two were diamond smugglers and lost it all thanks to the chipmunks. Actually, they lost it all twice." Dave said. " But, Jeanette, Cash and I believe they may have support now. They couldn't have made enough money to hire all those goons by this point. They are effective Diamond smugglers and never got caught until we cam along. But, even so, they shouldn't have had that many resources by this point. Them seemed to be restored to their full glory. That would hint that they had help. Now, maybe we're just being paranoid, but we've dealt with secret groups before and defeating them nearly cost Cash his life. We're just being cautious. Do you think you could protect our kids from people such as this? Mind you, when we got to them, Claudia had a gun pressed to Eliza's head and threatened to blow her away. We had to, temporarily, surrender. Then we just kind of lost after the kids attempted to fight off Claus and Claudia. These two beat and then were going to shoot our kids. We lost it then and just acted like wild animals and just tore them apart, figuratively. When our kids calmed us down, we found out Claus and Claudia had disappeared. Now, I know that we knocked them out, I can remember that, and I know we left them in a state where they couldn't have left that easily on their own. It was like somebody had taken them away. If there is a group, do you think you could protect them?" Simon asked. " Sir, let me tell you something. I was trained to be a Royal marine commando. I made corporal rank. I got into a fight, however, because of my temper and was discharged, honorably. I think I can handle this, if you'll give the chance." " well, you seem to be expertly qualified. Give us just a minute to deliberate." Todd said. They all turned around so he couldn't here them. After a minute and half hey turned back around. Todd stood up. " Congratulations, Adrian. You get the job." " Ah, thank you very much." " We have a recording for the munks tomorrow. You'll play the guitar for some background music. After one or two songs, your job will be to watch after the kids while their parents work. Also, where do you live?" " The east side of town." " That's to far." Dave said." I know" He called Xavier and told him the situation. " alright. Adrian, tell your mother she gets to move into a mansion. Xavier will let you live with him while you work for us. Is that alright?' Adrian quickly called his mother. As she was tired of seeming like a burden on their family, she was over joyed to move out. ' It'll be just fine sir. Thank you." " Good, you start work tomorrow at ten and by five, your things and your mother and her things will be moved to Xavier's. Sound good?" " It sounds perfect sir." Todd shook his hand. " Welcome to Chipmunk records, Adrian." Adrian smirked. ' Call me Andy."


	13. Chapter 13

New munks

Ian's turn

" It appears that Claus and Claudia are going to make a full recovery." One of the two mysterious leaders of the group said. This voice was female. " Well, that is good." Said the other. That one was male. ' Like I care.' Ian said. ' Relax Ian. Your turn is up. Feel free to do as you wish." The man said. ' By the way, what is your plan exactly?" A strange man asked. It was Dr. Frankenstein. Over these past few years, he had conducted unspeakable experiments on himself. It had disfigured his body awfully, but gave him various different abilities. In short, the man that made monsters, was now one himself. Dr. Frankenstein wore a large black coat over top an all black suit. This combo hid his true nature. Think something like the village chief from resident Evil 4. " well, Victor, let me tell you. I have better sense than those idiots. Only relying on the men this group can provide? That's just stupid. The munks are used to taking on overwhelming odds. Besides this, they made a critical mistake." " And that would be?" " They let the munks fight as a unit. When together, they are unstoppable. No, my plan is much better. I will use but a few men in my scheme. I will kid nap one, possibly two of the kids, in order to draw my first target out." ' First target?" " Yes. You see, I figure that if I can take out one, maybe two at a time, it'll be much easier on me than Claus and Claudia made it on themselves. Also, I will enlist a certain someone's aid, whether he wants to help or not." " Who is that?" " I will acquire Ken Ikebana. That's why I need a few men, to do the kidnapping and bring him to me. You'd like Ken, Victor, He's turned himself into a monster as well, although, he did it with performance enhancing drugs and pure rage." Victor had something literally slither around underneath his suit. When ever he was annoyed now a days, his mutated body would react. But, his coat hid this. " My plan goes something like this. I plan to lure Ken to a certain point. Then, I'll use the kids I've kidnapped to lure you know who to the same spot. I'll send in some men to keep the other munks busy. I'll just have them say they're a gift from me to them. So, while his family is tied up with those guys, Cash will be deliberately left free to go after the kids. Once I lure these two to the same spot, I'll have them gassed. After that, I'll put them in an isolated area I know of outside of town. No phone reception can be found. So, Cash will have to find his way home. But, this is the best part. I've set this area up some various traps, and also make use of it's natural snares. Especially the large water fall. and what's the greatest thing, thanks to all that, the area is impossible to escape alone. Ken and Cash will have to work together to escape." " You idiot, your giving him help?" " not really." " You said this Ken made himself a monster, that sounds like a good bit of help to me." " Your so hopelessly out of the lope Victor. Oh well, you have only been a member for a week or so. You see, Ken hates Cash and Cash isn't to fond of Ken either. This goes way back, I can tell. But, as for far and exactly why, I don't know, or care. But, they hate each other. You see, put enemies into a position where they'll have to work together. They'll destroy each other before they'd escape. And, with out Cash to act as their precious leader, the other Munks will be easy pickings. And, if they do manage to get to me and the kids, I'll be well prepared. They'll be easy anyways, because this gauntlet I've set up will drive them well past their limits." ' Well, you seem to have things in hand Ian. Don't let us down." The male leader said. " Oh, I've got cameras set up. Best free show you'll ever see."

New munks

Frankie and Elsa

" Alright, Tom, let me see what you can do." Adrian said. Tom had wanted to test his mettle against a real opponent. " I give him five minutes tops, before Andy beats him to death." Eliza said. " He won't beat Tom up, Liz. He's been hired to protect us, remember? Man, he's been with us for a month and you don't remember that?" Tony asked." Typical of men. 'standing up for your boy' right?" ' Well, yeah, Tom is one of my best friends. But, don't you think Helen or Olivia would root for you if you were in Tom's position?" " They'd better." Tom waited for Andy to make the first move. Andy attempted to grab Tom. Tom ducked under and struck Andy in the ribs. Andy rubbed his ribs. " oh, sorry Andy. Guess I don't know my own strength." " It's alright, I've been hit harder than that before. The real sting is from surprise. Your pretty quick."' Well, I have been trained by the best there is." Tom said, glancing over to his father. All the chipmunks, kids and parents, and Vinny, were having a nice time out. Dave was also there at the park." Oh, My phone." Dave said. ' Guys, Todd needs you to come in to touch up some things. And, he needs my approval on something. Andy, Vinny, could you watch the kids for an hour?" " That's our job." Vinny said. ' Alright, we'll be back in a bit." " So Tom, how good do you think your dad is?" " Well, Andy, he's taken on quite a few characters. He's beaten god knows how many kidnappers, a demon, and a werewolf. And that's just when he was thirteen." " A demon and a were-wolf?" " don't sound surprised Andy. Remember, you work for a bunch of talking, human sized chipmunks." Vinny said. " That's true ma'am. Guess weird things are just attracted to you?" " Shoot, the kids best friends are a monster and his monster bride, who both work at their favorite theme park. Frankie and Elsa ( A lady named Elsa Lanchester played the bride of Frankenstein in the movie, so I'll use her name.)." " They're good people." Helen said. " Actually, since Dr. Frankenstein made them from dead bodies, I'd say they are several good people." Tony said. " Reanimated creatures, in real life." Andy said. " Others see them as monster, but, they are just a loving couple and look after us. Want to know something funny?" Eliza asked. ' What?" " My dad taught Frankie and later Elsa how to talk. So, since they learned from a chipmunk, they sound like chipmunks." " I'll bet that is funny to hear." " It is when you first meet them." ' Hmm, but shouldn't Elsa hate Frankie?" Andy asked. ' Why?' ' Well, I've seen the bride of Frankenstein. When the female monster is brought to life, she hates the male one. Screams at him, even hisses at him." ' Not everything translates into the real world as it looks in the movie." Tony said. " Good point." " Matter of fact, I heard her first complete sentence to Frankie, after she learned to talk, was ' I love you.'"' Aw." ' Hey, Grandma Vinny, I'm gonna get something to drink." Tom cried. " I'll go with him." Helen said. " Alright babies." Vinny said. " Maybe I should go with them." Adrian said. " Don't worry Andy. There's a convenience store really close by. They'll back so quick you won't even know they were even gone." Vinny said. ' You have a point ma'am." ' Just Vinny is fine. We're friends after all, aren't we?"" I do enjoy talking with you. Yes, I suppose we are." an hour passed by. Tom and Helen didn't come back. ' Andy, I'm getting worried. Could you go check on them? They probably just wandered over to Jesse's arcade, since It's close too, and just forgot to call us." ' I'll go check." Ten minutes later. " We have a situation."

New munks

Enemy of my enemy

" What?' Viny asked. " Neither Jesse or the convenience store clerk said they saw them." ' Where could they be then?" " Vinny, your phone's ringing." " Hello? Todd, what's going on?" " Some crazy people just barged in and attacked the munks. Said they were a present from Ian Hawke." ' Oh no, not him. What's going on right now?" ' The munks are pushing them back. You and Andy better take the kids and hide them at Xavier's." ' Alright. Andy' I'll take the kids with me. You go to the label and help out there." " yes ma'am." " Come on your four. We'll worry about Tom and Helen later. I just hope they're ok, where ever they are." Meanwhile, Ian had tom and Helen locked away in the back of his car. He was taking them to the place he would keep them. "Helen, I can feel my phone coming out of my pocket. He tied your right hand to the door, but, your left one's free right?' " Yeah." " Reach in my pocket and pull it out. Think you can text an SOS to dad with out him knowing?' Tom whispered. " I can try." Helen managed it. Cash pulled out his phone. " Son of a bitch! These guys are just a distraction. Ian's got my kids." " We can handle these idiots. You get to them." Alvin said. " Be careful honey." Katrina said. ' It's just Ian, what could happen?" And, across town, where Ken was hiding out. " Who are you?" " We were sent to come get you." " I don't have any plans on going anywhere today." " We weren't asking." The men bum rushed Ken. They got him angry enough to follow them. Eventually, Cash and Ken both arrived at the warehouse. Helen had managed to text to her father where they were. She had seen the address on the way in. " you!" Cash cried To Ken." Where's my kids?!" " I have no clue what your talking about, outsider." " Don't lie you egg sucking son of a snake! Your in coo hoots with Ian, just like before!" " Ian Hawke? I haven't spoken to that idiot in years." That's when Ian turned on the gas. ' "sniff sniff' Something seem off to you?" Cash asked." Other than the fact that I'm talking to a freak of nature, no, not really." Cash shrugged off ken's comment. He was used to it. He was expecting Ken to attack at anytime, so he had his hand on his sword, which he had brought with him to train Tom with at the park. His grip intensified as he sensed more and more something was off. " Ken tell you ate beans or something.. Something.. Sti.. Uh." Cash fainted. Soon after, ken did as well. Ian loaded the both of them up and brought them out to his trap. After placing them in the most random piece of the area, he woke them with the loud speakers. " Wakey wakey." Cash was first to regain consciousness. ' Come Cash, you can do it." " Ian? When I find you I'm going to rip that old shiny bald head of yours clean off." " I'll have you know I've grown some nice looking stubble. It's not a full head yet, but it's getting there." " Where are you?" ' I'm in the old ranger station. You should be able to see it from where you are. Kids, wave hi to daddy." " Daddy! Help us!" Helen could be heard. "Shut your stupid Daughter up.' ken said. Cash punched him in the face." might not want to kill each other. look at your feet. I've got the only key. Make your way here, Ken, and I'll set you free. And Cash, you make it here, and if you can beat me, you go home the grand prize winner. . See you at the finish line." Ken attacked Cash. ' This is your fault." Cash elbowed him. " Listen to me! He wants us to fight each other. Why? Cause he's a sick puppy. if we're going to get out of here alive, we have to work together. So, I'm proposing a temporary truce. the enemy of my enemy?" ' Whatever. Let's just get this over with."


	14. Chapter 14

New Munks

Breaking down group unity

Cash and Ken had spent at least three hours dodging traps. Cash's phone wouldn't work, there was some kind of interference. He also didn't have a watch. He figured he had left the others to fend for themselves at the label at about 4:30. And, it was starting to get darker out. He figured it was late in the evening. " Ken, you got a watch on?" " Yes, outsider, I do." ' Does it work?" " yes." " What time is it?" " Why do you want to know, freak?" " Just curious." " It's 7:30." " Thank you." Now what?" " How should I know?" " You're the animal, don't you have animal senses or something?" Cash would have argued how he was more human than animal, but he had to admit that Ken was right. He had done it before. " alright, keep quiet then." " I don't have to listen to you, you monstrosity!" Ken shouted. " You want me to try my animal senses and see if I can't catch the scent of my kids or something and follow that to Ian?" " Yes." " Then shut it!" Ken looked like he was about to punch Cash, but Cash shot him a look that said ' do not mess with me right now.' Cash tried to open the animal part of his brain, with out letting dark Cash out. Dark Cash would instantly shred Ken, and as much as Cash didn't like Ken, he still needed him. So, going wild and tearing him apart wasn't going to help him. " Focus. Think chipmunk, not human." Once he thought he had the chipmunk part of his brain unlocked, he sniffed the air. He knew Helen always wore a particular smell of perfume. It smelled of watermelon and coconut. He knew berries were in this forest, he had seen them, but there was no way in the world that watermelon and coconut grew wild here. He caught it. " Thank you Katrina for buying her that perfume." Cash said. " What?" ken asked. " My daughter wears a perfume with a distinct smell. Coconut and watermelon. You see any of those around here?" " No." " Then that's got to be her. I smell coconut and watermelon coming from that direction." Cash said. Ken, begrudgingly, followed Cash. They waded through the mass of trees and bushes. Cash could hear running water. ' Ken, your not taking a really big leak behind me are you?" " No, you idiot!" Cash pushed passed a large bush. " Aw hell. Great. A freaking river. It always has to be rivers with me, doesn't it?" Cash said. " Well, which way now?" Ken asked. " I don't know! I'm a chipmunk, not a blood hound! My nose isn't sharp enough to follow the scent across running water!" " Then what good are you?" Ken started to try to go off on his own. He let ken walk on until he reached the three foot limit they had between them. Then, Ken tripped and smacked his face into the ground. " We're chained together, remember? If I don't follow, you trip. Wait! Try it again! That was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time." Ken rushed to Cash and looked about ready to strangle him. " Kill me and you've just got my extra weight to lug around. Look, whether we like this or not, we have to combine our abilities to survive. Your strength and my speed. Alone, we're doomed. And, frankly, I don't think Ian intended for us to work together this long." " I don't need anybody! I don't need you. And, I never needed that idiot grandfather of mine. I never needed his training, I was naturally good. He was a senile old fool. Thought he had to train everyone, even an outsider. What an idiot!" That tore it. Cash full on slammed his fist into Ken's face. He then picked up a large stick. " You talk bad about him again and I'll cram this stick so far up your…" Ken got up with a punch to Cash's stomach. " That's it! It's go time!" Cash cried. " Bring it freak!" Ken cried

New munks

Why am I saving him?

Ian was loving this. " They lasted longer than I thought, but I knew they'd get to killing each other eventually." " Why are you doing this?" Helen asked. " Yeah, why are you messing with our dad?" Tom asked. " It's very simple. Your uncles ruined me years ago. Now, I tried twice before to have the revenge I wanted. I even teamed up with Ken the first time. But, he wasn't cooperative this time. Your precious daddy was the one leading the pack that beat me and my gang. And, now, let me ask you something. Who is the leader of the chipmunks?" " Uncle Alvin." Helen said. " That's what he tells us anyways." Tom said. " Et! Wrong. It's your dad. Don't you see? It's like you an army. In an army, you have one highly trained officer to be the leader. If he dies, all the others aren't quite sure what to do. Then they're easy pickings. So, with your old man to lead them, your aunts, uncles, and even good old mommy, will fall like dominoes. The best way to beat an army, is to take it out it's leader first. Take out Cash, and the chipmunks fall into place." " you know our dad is going to find a way to us and then beat the hell out of you, right?" Tom said. ' Tom!" Helen cried. ' There are times when swearing is appropriate. This is one of those times." Tom said ' Swear all you want. Your not going anywhere." Ian said. " Whatever, all I know is I'm going to be laughing like crazy when dad gets here and stomps your face in." Tom said. ' We'll see, won't we?" Ian said. Cash was being held under the water by Ken. Cash drove his feet into Ken's abdomen. " You didn't think that, with all my experience with water, that I wouldn't know how to hold my breath?" " Let's see how long!" Ken cried. However, he unwillingly stepped on a switch to turn on a trap. A panel flew up and flung darts at them. Cash saw it coming, but Ken didn't. Ken got all the darts. He stumbled, and since he happened to be near the falls, fell over them. Cash felt the chain yank. " aw hell!' he said, as he began to slide towards the falls. He stood perched on the edge of the falls, trying to hold the dangling ken by the chain. " Damn it!' He cried as he felt his grip go. He fell over to." Grab a rock!' Cash thought. He tried to, but the water was eating down on them. Not to mention, since they were wet, the rocks were slick. Cash managed to hold onto to one for a second, but gravity wasn't having that. " Damn it!" He cried as they plummeted to the bottom of the falls. Cash rose up for the water. He shook his head. He felt the tug on his leg. He instinctively dove down and retrieved Ken. He brought him back to the surface. But, as Ken was larger, he was hard to carry. Not to mention, they were just barely out of the pull of the falls. Cash decided to his darker sides' strength to get them to shore. " Just concentrate on the shore. don't think how easy it would be to rip his throat out right now. You're a man of honor, not a killer." he thought. All he could ask himself was ' why am I saving him?" and, once he got to shore, it became ' why did I save him?" Cash heard Ken breathing. He was breathing, but not easily. " he must've swallowed a whole mess of water. I am not giving him mouth to mouth. No way in hell. Why should I? After all he's done to me for all these years, I should let him die. But, my kids are probably watching this. And, I'm Tom's hero. If he saw me let Ken die, what kind of message would that send to him? Damn! What am I supposed to do!?" Cash thought. He stomped on Ken's stomach in anger. Ken instantly spat up the water . However, he didn't wake up. " Well, at least he's breathing. But, I'm not spending the night. Got to get him up, but how?"

New munks

driven

Cash began to reflect on things that made Ken mad. He figured the best way to wake him was to get him mad. He remembered the night, thirteen years ago, when he and his brothers, along with the majority of their family, watched some old tapes of himself when he was eight years old. He recalled something he had called Ken that had made Ken hit him really hard. " Hey, Kenny. Kenny, wake up. It's time to go Kenny." Cash said, trying to sound very friendly. "Don't you dare call me that!" ken cried as his anger peaked and woke him. " Well, that worked." cash said. " I should have drowned. What did you do, freak?" " is that the kind of thanks I get for dragging your sorry butt out of the water and then making you cough up the water that was suffocating you?" " Please tell me you didn't do mouth to mouth." Ken said. " Fortunately for the both of us, I stomped on your gut instead and that panned out." Ken shook his head. Cash began to look around. They had crossed the river alright, but they were maybe sixty feet below where he thought they needed to be. " Can you walk?" Cash asked. " yeah." Ken said. " Well, come on. I see a path over here that'll take us back up. Then, maybe I can pick up the scent of my daughter again." Ken complied, still wishing he could drown the munk in front of him. How ever, he had to admit. He, only somewhat ( he hates him after all), admired the determination Cash was showing. He tried to push the idea of Cash's not being human aside for a second and tried to figure out why he was so driven. " Nothing is worth all this. Especially not a bunch of snot nosed, abomination brats." He thought. Finally, his curiosity got the best of him. As they neared the top, he figured ' what the hell?' and asked Cash a question. " Say, freak?" " What do you want Ken?" " Why do you keep struggling on? Nothing is worth all this." " if only you were a dad. Then you'd understand." Cash said. " what the hell does that mean?" " when you're a dad, your kids mean everything. They are your world. They are the most precious things in he world to you, and it's common desire, amongst all intelligent life, to keep what you hold dear safe and sound. I hold the life that I live back at home near and dear. The whole thing. It may sound greedy, but I won't rest until I get the whole thing back together. I want my kids back. Only with them is the life I love so much complete. Only then is it home." "There is no place for you freak! No real home for monsters like you." ' Look who's talking! Besides, who says you can't go home? That's where I'm going. It's the only place they call me one of their own." " Whatever." ' You know, right now, I feel weak. I'm tired Ken. Really tired. My body would love a good rest, but my heart and mind won't let me stop. It's in moments like these, I hear Agito's voice. You remember what a good singer he was? I can hear him singing right now. " Carry my wayward son, there'll be peace when you are done.' stuff like that." " Your not his son and you never will be." " not to you. But, what you say doesn't now, didn't then, and won't ever matter. All that matters is how agito and I saw and still see each other. I never knew my birth father. So, to me, Agito was the first dad I ever had. And, he treated me with the same warmth and love that a father shows his son. No matter what you say, all that time we spent together made us father and son. You can never take that time or that bond away. Whatever your mad at me about, it doesn't matter. Now, let's go show Ian the kind of dad I am and get my kids back. That's what matters."


	15. Chapter 15

New munks

A legend

Ken didn't say word one to Cash after that ultimatum. He cursed Cash still, but he could understand where the younger man was coming from. Ken began to think back to the first time he had fought Cash. He recalled what Dave had said to him. ' While you don't think he is, He's twice the man you'll ever be." Ken began to ponder if, just maybe, this was true. Ken knew he'd never stick his neck out like this. He remembered a very heated conversation he had had with his Grandfather when cash was just nine years old. Still young, still innocent, hadn't become the hardcore hero he was thirteen years ago, and still is today. " He's not human, grandfather! He'll never be anything but a freak!" " Your wrong Ken. I believe Cash will be great. He'll be the hero for the next generation. He'll be a legend one day, I can just feel it." Ken began to wonder if maybe they were right. " No way in hell. He might be a better man than me, at times, but he's not human and so it does not count." he told himself. His conscious mind believed this, but his subconscious knew better. In his subconscious, he was actually, somewhat, worried. Worried that Cash had really surpassed him. He decided that, if he ever wanted to kill Cash one day, he'd have to be fast as well as strong, to keep up with Cash. But, for right now, his only real desire was to be unhooked from the ' freak', as he would only refer to him. They approached the ranger station. " This is where he said he was." cash said. ' I'm gonna kill him. Wasted four bloody hours of my life by chaining me to you, outsider." " whatever. Let's get in here." Tom was, at this point, thinking of anyway he could to annoy Ian. The more he annoyed Ian, the less his father he watched. Ian didn't even know, at the moment, that Cash and Ken were right outside thanks to Tom. " Wish I had a Japanese banana, it would be so very nice, want a juicy Japanese banana, don't want the cherries and rice." He sang. When Cash and Ken knocked down the door, Ian was genuinely surprised. However, as he had told the group, he was prepared. But, he wasn't using tranqs or even bullets like all the others. No, he was using a weapon neither Cash or Ken had ever faced before. " You have to be kidding me! A freaking flamethrower?!" Tom cried. Cash and Ken ducked behind a steel crate as the torrent of fire came rushing at them. After a few more shots, Ian decided to royally screw with the unlikely duo and dangled the key they needed from the barrel of the weapon. " Take it now!" He cried. Ken was getting madder by the second, but, Cash seemed to be planning. Even in the heat, no pun intended, of battle, he was examining what the effect Ian's flamethrower had on the combat area. He noticed that, in two shots, the thrower had melted a good bit of the heavy steel crate they were hiding behind. " We'll never get to him fast enough chained together. Let me lop off your foot." Ken said. " I have an idea better than mutilating me." ' Damn, and I really wanted to." " Listen, he must have the thrower turned up real high. The steel of this crate is pretty thick and it's melting it. I have an idea. If we time it right, we might just be able to get him to blast our chain, right dead at the center. This chain doesn't look as tough as this crate. Ready?" " I guess. So, what is your plan, mutant?" " We rush him, sticking really close together. Then, once he fires, he take the last second and jump to opposite sides. Also, run low, make it look like we're going for dual uppercuts. That'll make him aim closer at the floor. Ready?" " That's the first good thing I've heard out of you in, well, ever." " Whatever, let's do it."

New munks

Helen's gift

Katrina was worried to death about her kids and her husband. Alvin and Andy had gone searching for hem. Alvin checked out all of Cash's usual hang outs. His house, Cam's shop, etc. Nothing. Andy searched Tom and Helen's hotspots. The music store, the library ( for Helen), Jesse's arcade once more and even Jason and Heather's house. Nada. Katrina had tears welling in her eyes. " We will find them, I promise you. It's my fault the kids are missing anyways. I should have gone with them." Andy said. " I don't hold it against you. Vinny told me she told you not to. It's ok, really, don't worry about it. It's Cash's job to rescue his kids. You keep them safe to the best of your abilities and let him take care of the big stuff, okay?" Katrina asked. " I understand ma'am.' " Just Kate." " Britt." " Ely." ' And Jean.' Jeanette finished. ' What?" Andy asked. ' they just told you what to call them." Vinny said. Adrian nodded. " It's to bad we can't talk to them telepathically." He said. Katrina suddenly kissed Andy's cheek. ' you're a genius. Why didn't I think of that?" she said. " what?" Katrina was paying no attention. She had her eyes shut and looked to be concentrating. ' Her first mom, Mrs. Macy Choy, was psychic. A real one. She thought Kate had the gift too and trained her to use it. Katrina's been able to sync her mind with Cash's before, even though he was far away, and tell us word for word what he's thinking. So long as his mind is open.' Brittany explained. ' working for them just gets more and more interesting." Andy thought. " No good. His mind's not open. Something must be going on." " what about Helen? Isn't she just like you?" Eleanor asked. ' your right, Ely. Her gift is like mine at her age, under developed, but, I have talked to her that a few times before. Shoot, I've even sang her a psychic lullaby and she sang it back. Now, let's pray her mind is open." " Can't you force in?" Andy asked. ' no, this acts like a mental phone. If a person's telephone line is disconnected, the call won't go through. Same deal here." Katrina explained. ' Now please, everyone, help me. Direct your thoughts to me, but think only of Helen. Think of it as an amplifier for the signal." Everyone did as instructed. Grins sneaked across most of the party's faces. Just about everyone at Xavier's ( Everyone had gone there to check on the remaining kids and are now using it like a home base.") was grinning. Theodore recalled a time when Helen had dropped her copy of Dracula over the side of a bridge. It was just sitting on a ledge on the side of the bridge. She nearly fell over the bridge while trying to grab it. Everyone was thinking of funny moments. Even Andy had one. She once sat on the pin cushion his mom was using to sew. Oh yeah, she said she was less clumsy, but, she was the new Jeanette through and through. Finally, Katrina connected.' Helen." Katrina thought. " Mommy?" The young one returned. ' That's right honey. Listen, can you tell us where you are?" " We're in a ranger station, in a forest off the interstate closest to the park." Katrina relayed that information to the others. " I believe I know where they are." Simon said. ' Okay honey. Be brave and we'll come find you really soon. Where's your father?" " He and that weirdo ken are chained together and their fighting Ian Hawke." " We'll be there as soon as we can." Then, Katrina separated the link. " Alright, let's get moving." She said. They loaded into a large car that belonged to Xavier. It wasn't a limo, so it wouldn't stick out if seen on the side of the road. But, it was still pretty big. " Just hang in there honey. What does Ian have up his sleeve? Chaining Cash to ken?!"

New munks

The group does exist

Cash and Ken got themselves into position. " Let's go!' Ken, wanting this whole stupid thing to be over with, cried. They followed Cash's plan to the t. Ian lined up the shot and fired. " Now!' Cash cried. They leaped to the sides and the fire blasted the chain. It melted it and separated the two. Ken grinned a sadistic grin. " Now that I don't have that useless piece of trash slowing me down, I'm going to rip you a new everything." As soon as ken managed to land a solid blow on Ian, knocking the flamethrower from his hands, Cash removed the key. He unlocked the remains of his shackles and then went to work on his kids. " Why aren't you kicking butt dad?" Tom asked. " I think Ken's got it in hand. Caving Ian's head in his priority, and your mine." " But, you could…" " Is all you think about is how much butt a person can kick?" Cash asked his son. " Well…" " Your just like Alvin. Whatever, I'll rough him up a bit, don't worry." " do I get to hit him too?" tom asked, sounding like Alvin at his age. He sounded just like Alvin when he wanted to do something some one else was doing. Yep, definitely the new Alvin. " We'll see.' Cash said. " Daddy!" Helen cried as soon as Cash released her. " Hey baby, you ok?" She nodded. " Everyone is coming here." She said. ' How do you know?" " I'm like mom, remember? I'm psychic! I talked to her in my head and told her where we are." " Good girl.' " you look tired pop." tom said. " what do you expect?" Cash said. " Come on, you're the invincible Cash Seville! Suck it up, Dad." Cash always liked it when his son tied to give him pep talks. That was another aspect of Alvin that tom had acquired. He was able to talk people into almost anything. And, listening to his son was getting him psyched about the idea of beating up Ian. ' um, Daddy? Don't you think you should stop Ken before he kills Ian?" Helen asked. That was her third acquired trait from Jeanette. Her general concern for all man kind, no matter what. Brains, clumsiness and concern. " I suppose." Cash said. Cash tapped ken on the shoulder. ' um, ken, you knocked him out little bit ago. He's not feeling it now.' " do I tell you how to raise your kids, outsider?" " No." " then don't tell me how to beat up those I hate. Just stand in the corner and I'll get to you soon enough." " But, your going to kill him." " Don't care. I'm going to kill you too." Cash knew Ken wouldn't stop. So, even though a part of him would really love to break Ian in half, he decided on another course of action. He had learned a special move from Andy. They had been sparing, a way of testing each other once. Adrian had come extremely close to using this move on Cash. Afterwards, Cash decided he needed whatever that was in his arsenal. He grabbed a certain nerve in ken's neck and squeeze. Ding, instant knock out." Cool! Teach me that!" Tom cried. ' um, no." " Why?" ' Cause, you'd try it on everybody." " I would not." Tom pouted." Tommy! Nell! Cash! Where are you?" They could hear. " They're here." Helen said. Cash let his body relax, it was over. But, as it turned out, all that tension was all that was keeping him conscious. He slipped into a deep sleep. " geez, I didn't know Dad was so heavy." Tom said. " let me help." Adrian said, coming through the door. " And next time, I'm going with you on drink runs." As they pulled Cash out one door, two strange men entered from the other side and a second later, pulled Ian away. " Who the hell are you?!" Alvin cried. " We're not here to fight, just for him. Our mutual benefactors want him back." One said, before they just walked off. " Ok, that proves there is somebody pulling the strings in the background."


	16. Chapter 16

New munks

Old Dutch courage

Cash awoke from a very deep sleep the next day. ' you alright?" Alvin asked. ' what are you doing here Al?" " It's my shift. We took turns watching after you. Simon And Theodore are in the Cafeteria I think." ' Cafeteria? Oh, we're in the hospital. Ok. Well, where's everybody else?" ' Well, Helen's back home, safe and sound, with Kate. Eliza and Brittany are doing god knows what at home. Tony and Libby are here with Simon and Theo. And Tom is.. Well." ' Right here dad.' Tom said, stepping inside. " You wanted cherry coke, right uncle Alvin?" " Bingo, sport!" " Man, do you know how long a walk it is to that vending machine?' Tom asked. ' nope. And.." ' you don't care, right?' Tom asked. ' you don't have to be so blunt. Alright, thanks Tommy." " No problem uncle Alvin. So, dad, can I learn that knock out move you used on ken last night?" ' No way in the world." " Yep, your back to your old self." " Knock knock." came a voice from outside. ' Come on in." cash said. ' Well, well, we meet again." " Doctor John Paramore." Cash said. "Glad you remember me." ' Who?" tom asked. ' Doctor Paramore took care of your dad after his very first fight with Ken." Alvin told his nephew. " If I recall, you had several cuts, some that required stitches, a cracked rib, a broken finger, and a concussion." The doctor said. Cash rubbed his left ring finger, the one that was broken during that particular fight. " yep, it was that one wasn't it? Well, at least you got something pleasant on it now. By the way, how is the Mrs. ?" " Just fine." " And you have a daughter too, don't you? How is she?" " Helen's good." " And you Alvin?" The doctor asked. " Can't complain personally. Brittany's just fine and Eliza alright too. Just one thing Brit's been bugging me about." " And that is?" ' Well, she's been reminiscing lately. First off, aren't we a little young for that?" " Your never to young to reflect on fond memories." the doctor told him. 'Guess that's true. Well, she remembered the conversation we once had about our kids names. As for right now, Liz is an only child. Well, she comes up to me, a little after our friends tell us they're expecting again. She comes up to me and, in this real sly voice, says ' By the way Alvin, when are we going to get to work on a sibling for Eliza?' I was like what? And she says ' you remember, don't you? Dante? Hannah?' It took me a second, but it came back to me. Those were names we picked out years back for our second and third kids. I said ' if you run it by Liz, and if she likes it, we'll see.'" " and?" ' I don't know yet. She's supposed to run it by Liz today. I'm content with it how it is. But If Britt wants another, I'll get the last word." Cash knew the joke Alvin had just set up. " Yup, we chipmunk men always get the last word. And, what is the last word Alvin?" cash said. " Yes dear." Alvin said. They laughed." But, If Brittany wants more kids, then I'll give them to her." " Funny, Jeanette ran the idea for siblings for Tony by me too." Simon said. He, Theo, and the kids just came in. " We brought your favorite doughnuts, Tom. Help yourself." Tony said. ' don't mind if I do." " Hello cash." Andy said. He had just arrived. " You get what I told you to?' Alvin asked. 'yes sir." " What is it?' cash asked. ' a gift for you." " Better not be booze like the last time." " last time?" Doctor Paramore asked. ' I was in for pneumonia. Well, Alvin brings me a bottle of old Dutch courage. Said to drink it warmed up, so it'd fix me. One problem, I don't drink. I don't even smoke." " Uh…" Adrian said. ' You know what? I think I'll just keep this. My cousin enjoys a good drink now and then." Adrian said.

New munks

Fire

Cash didn't bother to ask how an eighteen year old could get his hands on some whiskey. So long as Adrian got rid of it right, he didn't care. But, Cash had a reason he never drank. He had seen a good friend's dad go spiraling out of control because of it. This had happened when Cash was six. For a moment, Cash pondered what ever happened to him. Jerry Ortiz was the boys name and his father had drank ever since Cash had met him. He was a good man, but, he had his demon. His wife had passed away after contracting a severe case of heart disease. She didn't even last a year after the prognosis. But, for right now, Cash had more pressing concerns. Like getting dressed. " Alright, everybody out of the pool. Cash needs to get his clothes on." Alvin said. After giving him ten minutes, Alvin wrapped on the door. " You decent?" " yeah." " So, Dad, what am getting for Christmas?" Cash lowered his head. " You never give up, do you?" " I'm just like my old man." " And your uncle." Simon added. " be quiet Simon.' Alvin said. ' Why should I?" " Cause, I'm oldest and I said so." " No your not, Cash is." ' By one measly second." " It still counts." " Well, I'm still older than you." " By five minutes! Just five." " Still five minutes older." Theodore looked at Tony and Olivia. " if you ever wonder where Eliza gets it from, remember this." he told them. Cash gave both of his brothers a strong bonk on the head. " Ah, still the violent peace keeper." Came a voice. " Larry? What are you doing here?" " Well, Raya was visiting Eleanor today and heard what happened. I was visiting our son. Once we got word, we came over." " We?" " hey guys." " Jesse!" Olivia cried. " So glad to see your alright. I got worried after we didn't hear from after, … well.. You know." She said. ' Don't worry libby, I don't even have a scar. But, I have to say, from what little I could see, you three and liz do an amazing job holding your own." Tom tried to look cool by folding his arms and closing his eyes. His version of Cash's ' leader pose'. " Well, of course, Jesse. You forget who we are the sons and daughters of." He said. Tony pushed his glasses up in the sauvest way he could, trying to look cool as well. Olivia stood sideways, with her armss folded, and a confident smile plastered on her face. Her own cool pose.


	17. Chapter 17

New munks

Alvin at home

After a few minutes of hanging out, and making one last check to make sure Cash was alright and hadn't strained himself by helping in the rescue, Alvin returned home. He was half expecting to hear Brittany call for him soon as he walked in the door. " Alvin? Is that you?" Brittany called from in the kitchen. Bingo. " Yeah, it's me." " Good, come in here please." " Yes dear." Alvin walked into the kitchen. She had the little TV on the counter turned on. currently it was on her favorite soap opera. She was doing dishes, which he figured were from lunch. She noticed him eyeing the dishes. " we saved some for you, if you want it." She said, pointing to the large pot of Ramen on the stove top. " Love some." He said. He pulled a small bowl from the cupboard and load some into it. To his amazement, it was still warm, almost hot. " How long ago did you eat?" He asked. ' Oh, couldn't have been more than five minutes ago." She said. He nodded. " You know your going to have to wash that yourself. I love you to death, but my hands are dish panned enough." she said with a giggle. Whenever she said something with a giggle like that, he knew she was kidding. After he sat down, she walked over and planted a big kiss on his cheek. " Mwa! I love you, Al." " I love you too, Britt." She then gave him another peck. " What was that one for? I get one every time I come home, but what about the second?" " We saw the news.' She said. ' So, Simon was right. Cool, I was on the news…. Man, I must be getting jaded." He said. " Why do you say that?" " Well, it did excite me a little to know that, but, now that feeling's faded. I remember a time years ago when stuff like that would have had me going for a week." ' Well, things change when you become a parent. I still remember when Eliza was 3. Remember? Dave took her for the night, so we could enjoy our anniversary alone. We had a nice dinner at a swank restaurant and even had a kiss fest in the back of the car after dinner. But, after the making out, you said we had to get home. And why? Because, you said that you couldn't wait to get Eliza up on your leg and bounce her like she loved. Before, a night like that would have been all you wanted from a date. Shoot, after the make out fest, you would have given me a minute to catch my breath and then asked for round two. But, being a parent changes you. Your not Jaded, Hon, your just a dad. Doing things with our daughter is what excites you. That, and hanging out with your brothers and performing." " And what we do every Wednesday night.' He said, slyly." Say, isn't today Wednesday?" " can we leave the bed room antics in the bedroom sweet heart?" " Just joshing you, beautiful." " I know, I know, That's one reason I love you, your sense of humor. That, and, well, just look at our daughter. She's the other reason. You know, she shouted ' go dad' for a good five minutes after she saw you do all that on the news." " Speaking of her, were is our Lizzy-bear?" ' online I think.' " Probably chatting with her friends." " Aren't her main friends Helen and Olivia?" " Well yeah, but she must have others. Didn't you have other people to hang out with, other than your sisters when you were her age?" " To be honest, not really. Pretty much it was just us, and occasionally you. You don't think her ego issues make it hard for her to make friends do you?" ' Being a parent has changed you too." He said. " How?" ' There was a time when you didn't give a flying you know what over how many friends somebody had. Now, look. That's one of your main concerns with her. Your not Brittany the brat anymore, your Brittany, the loving mom."

New munks

Just not ready yet

The uncomfortable silence between the lovers continued for a while. Eventually, Brittany went over and turned the TV off. ' Your not going to finish watching that?" Alvin asked his wife. " it's a rerun.' " Ah." He said. " Britt, Listen. I've been thinking. I love you to death, you know that, and I only want you to be happy. So, if another kid is what will make you happy, then let's go to the bed room right now." He said. " Thanks, but no thanks dear." " Huh? You not turned on enough or something?" " Oh no, I'm always willing to do 'it' with you, it's just that… Well, I ran the idea passed Liz today, like I said I would." " And?" " She said that, as nice as it would be to have a little sibling, she just doesn't think she's ready to handle the responsibility of being an older sister. But, she said when she felt ready, she'd let us know. And you know what?" " What?" " I've realized I'm not ready either. I'm just one of those moms who has just one and that's all she can handle. Eliza is all I want, I've come to realize that. let's face it, we're just not the two or three kid kind of parents. Neither is Jeanette. I'll bet she's having a similar conversation with Simon right now. Eleanor, she's as loving as all get out, she was a born mother. Born have two. And Katrina, she's just one rung below Ely on that motherhood ladder. See, we talked like this earlier today, over the phone. We came to agree, that, we got everything we wanted out of just one kid. We think Cash and Kate and Theo and Ely had two, because they didn't get what we did. Tom is basically Cash, but with a bit of your attitude. And Helen? Let's face it, she's Katrina, with a little Jeanette thrown in. To get the balance, they had to have two. But, with us, we got the blend in one shot. Same as with Sy and Jean. He's got Sy's brains, and Jeanette's concern. I mean, didn't he swear he'd cure some of the deadliest diseases, just for the good of mankind?" " he did." " See. And Liz is me and you fused. Not just me, or just you, her personality is the both of us fused together. Now, whether that is a good thing or a bad, I can't say." " So, what your saying is, you don't want another kid? I want you to know, I'm cool with it either way. It's whatever you want." " Man, I've got you whipped, don't I? Wrapped around my little finger." " Since the day we said I do and put on these rings." He said." And I don't mind a bit." she laughed. Then she said " but yeah, that's what I'm saying. I've got all I need in you and Eliza. I don't need another. We'd ruin this good 'family feng shui" we got going on. It's what makes this house so cozy." ' I thought the hot tube is what made it cozy." ' Hey, Al?" " Yeah?" " be totally honest with me. Were you really fine with the idea?" " Honestly, I didn't really want to disturb it either. I'm content with it just the way it is now."" I knew it. Honey, I know Grandpa Seville probably told you the lady of the house is boss." " and that's true.' He said. ' Maybe, but, if something I ask for bothers you, don't be afraid to tell me, ok? I love you and I respect your opinion" " Ok." " and I'm kind of glad you don't want to change it either. I was worried that the idea would have grown on you." " Well, let's just forget the whole business, ok?" " What business?" She said slyly. " Oh, I have good news." He said. " What?" " Jesse found this little girl named Kathleen after the fire and pretty much immediately decided to adopt her." " That's great!" " I told him, soon as he's got her all moved in, call me and we'll set something up to introduce her to everybody." ' that's so like you. Now…" She said, looking around. " Before Liz comes down, Kiss me, hard as you can!"

New munks

Tony's rough day

The next day, Tony woke early. Yesterday, he had been informed by his parents that he would not be getting any siblings, at leas not for now. Tony was completely fine with this, as he wasn't ready for the elder sibling responsibility either, just like Liz. Today, however, he was alone. At least for a few hours. Ms. Miller, or ' Grandma Miller' as the kids called her, would be over in a few hours. Simon, recalling how well she had done when she had baby sited him and his brothers, was worried. However, Jeanette brought to Simon's attention that she was her only mother and had raised her to be who she was now, just as Dave had done for him. Taking that into consideration, Simon gave her the benefit of the doubt. Tony, for a reason he didn't even understand himself, felt compelled to have some impressive experiment ready to show his parents when they got home. They had received a letter from Frankie and Elsa, asking them to come to their house warming party. Knowing they couldn't live in the old Frankenstein castle attraction, the theme park managers had broken down and bought them a house, not to far from the theme park. As a matter of fact, all the elder munks had received this letter. It said to reply just show up. So, Dave and Ms. Miller had come up with a plan. Dave had agreed to baby sit Liz, Olivia and Ben, with out telling their parents he had agreed to baby sit their niece or nephew as well. Ms. Miller had done the same with Tom, Tony and Helen. Then, they would go to the theme park, and from there, call the parents and get them to come. It had been a while since everybody had been to the theme park on WHOLE family outing. Tony was messing around in his father's lab Unfortunately, Tony was just like Simon at his age. Simon had gotten better over the years. He was even in the process of building a special suit for Adrian to wear. It was still in the designing faze, but he had a basic idea. He knew Andy was strong, and highly trained. Andy had, somehow, gotten accepted into Royal marines training at age 15. Showing great determination, he had completed his training and was sworn into the service by sixteen and quickly made corporal rank. Unfortunately, a month later, there was an incident and he was honorably discharged. He had yet to tell what had happened. It had happened two years ago. And a month after his discharge, his father passed away and he and his mother moved to Hollywood. Anyways, this suit would increase Andy's fighting capacity. Sy knew Andy was tough, but he also knew now that there was a group out to get them. He feared that this group may have access to some sort of near superhuman mercenaries. So, the closer to superhuman Andy was, the better. The suit was made of special fibers. They alone made for an impressive defense boost. These fibers however, when bent, would build a super high level of potential energy very quickly. So, if someone wearing the suit cocked their arm back to throw a punch, it would tighten these fibers. Then, when they threw the punch, the fibers would release the energy and give even more momentum and force to the attack. Effectively, it turned a basic punch into that of a prize fighters. After Processing all this, Tony had decided to try and make something impressive as well, to make his father proud. But, so far, he was unsuccessful. All he seemed to be good at doing was blowing himself up. Finally, with him disgusted and hating himself, Ms. Miller arrived. Tom became concerned for him. Tony wouldn't tell him what was wrong, but Tom decided he would have it resolved before the end of the day.


	18. Chapter 18

New Munks

Co-leaders

After arriving at the park, Dave told the kids the plan and made the call. Though the parents said they were going to talk to their parents about telling them their plans ahead of time, they agreed to it. Frankie and Elsa said they would come too. Dave also told them Vinny and Xavier would be here soon. But, no body would be there for an hour. So, Dave granted them permission to go off into the park by themselves, but, only if they kept their phones on and stuck together. Andy had been given the day off, as it was his mother's birthday. Once on their own, Tom pulled everybody off to the side, while sending Tony to get some cotton candy. " Alright, while he's gone, I need you guys' help." He said. " what's up Tom?" Olivia asked. " Well, you must have noticed. Something is wrong with Tony. He's down in the dumps about something. But, he won't tell me what's wrong. And, you guys know we're the best buddies there are. So, if he won't tell me, something is really wrong." " Man, I need to spend more time with him, if I couldn't sense it till now." Ben said. ' it's okay Ben, we're all his family. We should all have figured it out by now." Olivia said. " Well, Tommy is the closest to him. It's not surprising he's the first to figure it out." Helen said. " Guys, guys! We're getting really off topic." tom yelled. ' Sorry tom.' They said. " Look, we got to get him to tell us what's wrong and then we can work from there. We're his family, if anybody can break his funk, it's us. Just like we did for Olivia." " What's he talking about Sis?" Ben asked his older sister. " It's nothing Benjy ( Only she, their mother, and Ms. Miller call him this, everyone else calls him Benny), don't worry your darling little head over it. Let's just say I had a problem, was down in the dumps about it and Tom, Nell, and Liz helped snap me out of it." Ben looked to his cousins, who nodded that this was true. " Well, Tom, what do you think we should do?" Ben asked. ' Hmm.. To be honest, I have no idea." " Ha, and you want to lead us?" Eliza laughed. " Well, what do you say we should do?" he asked. She promptly shut up. " hmm, what to do, what to do.' " well, when you helped me, what did you do first?' Olivia asked. " Nell and I talked to our dad first, to get his advice. But, dad isn't available right now. We're on our own. Besides, if I'm going to be a leader for you guys, like he is for our parents, I need to start acting like it and take charge. I have to show I'm a good leader." " Whatever. Uncle Cash is so not leader, my dad is." Eliza said. " Actually, I talked to them about it once, and they kind of had decided to be co-leaders. Besides, hasn't uncle Alvin always consulted dad before he did something for the group?" Helen asked. " got to admit, Nell's right. He does." Eliza said. ' Well, if your dad's are able to coexist as co-leaders, why can't you two be co-leaders for us?" Olivia asked. " You're the oldest, just a few hours apart. And, when your not being egotistical and acting high and mighty, or fighting each other, you both display qualities of a good leader. But, each of you only has half the qualities needed for a good leader. But, if you work together…" She continued. " Alright, Libby, I get it. So, co-leader, what should we do?" Liz asked. " Hmm, well, the best course of action I can think of is to corner him and make him tell us what's wrong." ' But, you've asked him several times already right?" Liz asked. ' Yeah." " Then, what makes you think he'll talk this time?" " Because, we'll have him out numbered, five-to-one. Plus, I haven't been trying as hard as I can. I, like my dad, can be very persuasive. Just ask Ben or Nell." " Alright. Oh, here he comes."

New munks

Father and son moment

' Here Tom." Tony said, handing him the cotton candy. Tom had given him money for it. "Thanks. Hey, let's go to that dragon ride." " Alright." the six made their way there. " They entered the line area, wondering why no one was in line. They discovered the ride was being repaired. On their way back out, Tom and Ben made sure to walk in front of Tony and the girls covered his back. And, with metal railings on either side, Tony was boxed in. when they confronted him, he wasn't going anywhere. Tom whipped around when they were half way back out. ' alright, Tony, what's wrong with you today?" He asked. ' What?" " Come on, I know something is bothering you, what is it?" " Nothing Tom, now let's get going." Tom and Ben stood firm. ' We're not letting you out of here until you tell us what's wrong." Liz had pulled out her cell while no one was looking. She pulled up Simon's number from her list and called him. She quietly asked him to listen in. " Your really not going to let me go?" " Not an inch." Tom said. " Now spill it. What's bothering you." " Well… I'm just so upset with myself today." ' why?" Ben asked. " Well, dad told me about this really amazing suit he was developing for Andy. Told me all about the special fibers in it and how it would make Andy tougher and stronger. Just an incredible idea. Well, after I heard all this, I wanted to make an incredible experiment to show him when we got home. With the few hours I had before Grandma Miller came for me, I began working in dad's lab. ( Note, he calls Simon father to his face, but calls him dad when he's not around, usually. Same deal with Jeanette) I worked and worked, wanting to prepare a formula for whatever purpose I could work out, to make dad proud. But, all I was good at was blowing myself up. Dad could never be proud of such a loser son. I can't make anything, like he does. He must be so disappointed in me." " That's not true!" Simon erupted over Eliza's phone. " Father?" " Liz, put this on speaker." " Alright, Uncle Simon." " When did you..?" Tom asked her. " Right about when you and Ben turned around." " hmm, and by working together, and not even knowing, we got Tony right where we need him. Maybe there is something to this co-leader business." " Guess so, know listen." " Father, I didn't mean for you to.." " Tony, listen. I am not disappointed in you. You're my son, I love you. I was proud of you from the moment you were born, cause I knew you'd grow up to be great. I knew you'd be the smartest of 'the smart ones'. No offense Nell." " None taken, Uncle Simon. I think he's smarter than me too." " see, Tony. You have Nell's respect, and, if they have the guts to set this up for your own good, you have everyone's love and respect too. Now, if that's not a reason to be proud, I don't know what is." " But I.." ' Let me finish, Son. I'm also proud because you try. You just got disgusted with failure and gave up. But, I know you. Typically, you try and try till you get it right. The combined stress of being on a timer and trying to impress me is what made you give in. But, Son, let me tell you something. You know how everyone says your just like me at your age?" ' yeah." " well, I had the same problem. I got disgusted a lot, and gave up on things. But, Dave always encouraged me to keep trying, just like I am you. He always told me I'd get better at inventing if I kept practicing. I'm only as good as I am because I've had more practice. What I'm saying is, I'm proud of you, always, and don't ever let me hear of you giving up ever again, got it?" ' Right. See you later father." " Bye, son." " thanks guys." Tony said to his cousins.

New munks

Tom and Frankie

One hour after cheering Tony up, the group was called to the front by Dave. There stood their parents, Xavier, Vinny, and Frankie and Elsa. After hugging vinny and Xavier, they hugged the monster couple. " Mwa!" Helen cried, kissing Frankie's cheek. " I love you Frankie." she said. " I wish I had a daughter like her." Frankie said. " Well, so long as you don't let anyone find out what you are, there's always adoption. But, it would have to be just the right kid. One that would think it would be cool to have monster parents. Ops, I didn't mean monster, I meant…" Tom said. Frankie held up his hand to stop him. " It's alright Tommy. Hmm, what do you think Elsa, dear?" " I like it. I can't have any, obviously. But, I wish I had a daughter, or a son." Elsa said. " well, there you go." Eliza said. After an about three hours, Frankie and Elsa asked if the kids would like to see their new house. " We'd love too." Olivia said. Within twenty minutes, all had arrived at the house. " This place is really nice." Tony said. " Thank you. I try to keep it tidy." Elsa said. Tom was immediately drawn to the large back yard. Tom recalled when his father told him about his adventure in curing Larry Talbot of his werewolf problem. Larry had been investigating a series of dog slayings. Something very large had been killing all the large dogs around town. They came to find out that this was an Albino werewolf. That meant it was a were wolf in every sense of the canine definition. The only way to create an albino werewolf was to have werewolf bite a regular dog. This wolf's true form was a dog. After transforming, the dog wished to establish it's self as top dog, and went about killing all the large dogs in the area that could give it competition. The one night Larry had forgot his silver headed cane, inside which was house a sword, Larry was attacked by the creature. After coming to Xavier's house, which Cash and crew were house-sitting at the time, Larry attack them. Cash, revealing his sword had silver infused in it, did battle with him. When Larry attack Katrina, cash transformed into Dark Cash and defeated Larry. Then, Cash and crew put silver on Larry to keep him human. After wards, they figured out that it would go after their P.E. teachers German Shepard. They took the dog to the park and used it to lure the albino to the park. There, Larry did battle with it. But, it was stronger and beat him, then attack Kate, looking for a meal. Cash again changed and beat up the beast, a little violent animal on violent animal violence, and showed how strong the transformation made them, by easily lifting the two hundred and some pound looking beast over his head and throwing it. Then, with their last strengths, Larry and the Albino bit each other, turning back to normal. the albino turned out to be a lab. But, what was really important, was that the day after, Larry came and challenged Cash to a sword duel. It was also the day he and wife Raya went and adopted Jesse. But, what interested Tom was the bit on dueling a monster. Tom wanted that kind of test. " Hey Frank, can you come out to the yard?' He asked. " Sure." Tom asked to duel Frankie. Though worrying about it, since he so much bigger Tom, Frankie wasn't given a choice. Tom rushed him and landed a series of hard punches. Figuring that if he had to defend himself, Frankie swatted Tom. He knocked him into the stack of chopped fire wood. All the wood fell on Tom. Pulling him out, Frankie said " Oh God, I'm sorry Tom." Cash had seen the whole thing and wanted to laugh so bad. He had told Tom he wasn't read to take guys bigger than him yet. Tom looked to his father. " Guess I need more training huh?" He laughed.


	19. Chapter 19

New munks

What to call it?

The next day, Simon was hard at work at making his suit for Andy. Right now, he had Jeanette and Katrina assisting him with the sewing, while Cash showed Tony and tom how to play a legit game of pool. ' Dad, can you do any trick shots?" Tom asked. " Yeah, why?" " Can you show us some?" " I guess." " Uncle Cash is so cool. Wish my dad was too." Tony said, not thinking Simon heard him. Simon had a small lab off the side of his and Jeanette's bedroom, a smaller one for Tony in the room next to Tony's bedroom, and a large main one in the basement. In fact, the basement served as lab and pool hall. The washing machines were in a little room just off the kitchen. " yo, sitting right here." Simon cried to his son. ' ooo, busted." Tom said. Tony cringed. ' I'm grounded for sure." He said. " Nah, Uncle Simon's not that kind of guy. Besides, he's cool. Just a different kind of cool. Dad's cool cause he's got skills. Uncle Simon's cool cause he can make stuff like this super suit he designing right now. See, skillful cool and brainy cool." " your right." Tony said. " And what about Uncle Alvin and Uncle Theodore?" " Hmmm, uncle Alvin is the athletic cool." ' Athletic cool?" " Yeah, the opposite of Uncle Simon's cool. He's cool, cause you know if you want to learn about any kind of sports, and any special moves or plays in them, he's your guy." " Guess that makes sense. And uncle Theodore?" ' he's the sweet cool. He's cool because he's such a good guy. You know if you need a helping hand, he's always willing to put down whatever he may be doing and come help you." " How come your so good at judging people's character?" Tony asked. ' For one thing, their his uncles, Tony. And secondly, he gets it from his dad. Cash is a very good judge of character." Jeanette said to her son. Cash and Simon just looked at each other, grinning. " Well, you guys going to watch or what?" Cash asked his son and nephew. They nodded. Cash set up the balls. He set the nine ball in the center, surrounded by six others. " Now, we're going to sink that nine." he said. ' how? It's surround. You might get one o the others in but…" " That's the trick Tony. It's called the power of nine. Alright, Tom, pick a pocket." " um, bottom right corner pocket." ' Alright." Cash placed the cue ball behind the ball opposite the ball that was lined up with that pocket. Basically, the shot would go from upper left to bottom right. " Ok. Tony, come here. Your going to do this." Tony shrugged and did as his uncle instructed. " Hit the six full on." He whispered. Tony pulled back the stick and struck the cue, making it hit the six ball full on. Hit collided with the other balls, pushing them out of the way and sending the nine into the desired pocket. " 'whistle' dang, that was cool.' Tom said. ' And it's so simple too." Cash said. " Walk us through it." Tony said. Tom ad Tony put on their begging eyes. " Alright, alright." Simon smiled and turned back to the suit. IT was coming along fine. In fact, the last of the fibers had been sewn into place. " Ah, The finished product." Simon said, kicking the prototype, made the other day, out of sight. It looked like it would fit Tony. " it's got a name right?' Tom asked. " I haven't thought of a name." " do you have any ideas?' Jeanette asked." Well, what is it supposed to do?" cash asked. " Well, it would turn the punch from a guy like Andy, into one that would rival at titan." ' Then call it the Prometheus suit." Tony said. 'Prometheus?" " the titan that made man in Greek myth. The beginning for men. so why not call the beginning suit the Prometheus?" " good point son. Then that's what it will be called." New munks

Cash's lonely song

The next day saw Cash sitting all alone at home. Tom had gone to practice soccer with his cousins and the human Cash. Kate and Helen had gone to visit Heather, see how her pregnancy was coming along. That left Cash with nothing to do. " I wish I had made plans. If I knew this was coming, I would have." He pondered if Alvin or the others were busy. Maybe, just maybe they didn't have anything to do. Then he recalled, Alvin was busy helping coach the kids soccer team. That meant Brittany was there as well, since she even rooted for them during practice. Eleanor and Theodore had gone to visit Larry and Raya, he had been told that this morning by his wife. And, Simon and Jeanette were busy helping Andy get used to the suit and test it. Simon had told him that yesterday. He didn't want to bother Dave or Ms. Miller for such a trifle thing as boredom. Same went for Xavier or his mother. Then again, They were probably busy entertaining Simon and Jeanette. At least, Vinny would be. Her and the two servants, butler James and maid Geneva, a brother and sister duo. Xavier would be at the soccer practice, as he was co-coach with Alvin. Jason had been called into the label to assist with something. Heather had told them that when Kate had called her to let her know they were on their way. Cash figured he might as well not sit around home any longer. He already checked his email. Responded to a letter from his cousin, through Agito, Kimiko in Japan. She just wanted to know how everything was. She sent mails like this every month. Rena, Kimiko's daughter, would be seventeen in a month. ( She was three in the last story). He had gotten the mail and sorted it. Read the paper, cleaned the house a bit and had done all the work he was going to do today on Tom's sword, still kept secret. Now, he had nothing to do. Then he snapped his fingers. ' never thought I would ever say this, but I hope Kate has a long 'honey-do' list for me today." Whenever Kate wanted him to do some errands while she was out, she left one of these lists on the kitchen counter, next to the bread box. " Damn. Just three things." he said when he found it. It said to go to the store and get , of all the boring things, eggs, milk, Orange juice and olive oil, Extra virgin preferably. Next, she had several letters laid out which the list said to go mail. Finally, she had a cake baked to give to Jesse, a bit of a welcome gift for Kathleen. Kathleen had been moved in yesterday, but they wouldn't have an official meet and greet for her till this coming Saturday. " Might as well get to work on this stuff.' He said. Before Cash left, he picked up a particular cd he listened to on days like this. It was the phantom of the opera soundtrack. He popped the second of the two disk set into the cars cd player and turned it to track eleven. " Child of the wilderness, Born into emptiness, Learn to be lonely, Learn to find your way in darkness, Who will be there for you, Comfort and care for you, Learn to be lonely, Learn to be your one companion, Never dreamed out in the world, There are arms to hold you, You've always known your heart was on its own, So laugh in your loneliness, Child of the wilderness, Learn to Be lonely, Learn how to love life that is lived alone, Learn to be lonely, Learn to be your one companion, Never dreamed out in the world, There are arms to hold you, You've always known your heart was on its own, So laugh in your loneliness, Child of the wilderness, Learn to Be lonely, Learn how to love life that is lived alone." Cash listened to this when he was traveling to his brothers after Agito died. It always made him feel like somebody got understood.

New munks

Kathy's crush

Cash had already gone to the post office and mailed the letters. Now, he was going to take the cake to Jesse. He figured that if he went to the store first, it would give the cake's icing time to melt. And, if did the reverse, the stuff that needed to be refrigerated quickly could go bad. Cash pulled out his cell and selected Jesse's Cell from his list. Jesse was messing around at his arcade, letting Kathy play skee ball and such as she pleased. Business had been alright today, but it had slowed to none existent now. This morning and earlier in this afternoon were insane, but now it wasn't even a shell of that. ' Oh well, at least Kathy's happy. Man, can't believe I have a little girl now. Somebody needs me. I'm a dad. Wow. I need to talk to somebody who has a daughter. Get some advice." That's when he noticed his phone ringing. He saw it was Cash calling. " perfect timing.' He thought. ' hello Cash.' " Hey bud, how's it going?" " Pretty good, pretty good." " Kathy alright?" " just fine. Happy as can be." " Good to hear. She looking forward to this Saturday?" " god, she won't shut up about it. She loves meeting new people." " She likes meeting new characters huh?" ' yep." " Well, have we got some for her this Saturday, and I'm not including myself in that." " your not coming?" " Oh, I'll be there. It's just that she'll officially meet me today." " Huh?" " Kate made a cake, chocolate with vanilla frosting I think. It's a bit of a welcome gift for Kathy. I'm bringing it over. Where are you?" ' The arcade." " alright, I'm near by. Just went to the post office. Be there in a second.' ' alright, see you then." Then Jesse, Jesse turned to new adopted daughter. ' Kathy?" ' yeah, daddy?" Kathy had almost immediately started calling him that after he had adopted her. Matter of fact, he could swear she started it from the minute he had signed the adoption papers. " Cash is bringing us a cake." " Who's Cash?" ' you remember the chipmunks?" " Of course, they were one of the favorite bands at the orphanage. A lot of the girls, me included, had, and I guess still have, a crush on the ones in red and black.' " The girls have a crush on them?" " yup." " Which on do you like?" " The one in black." " Well, your in for a surprise." ' Why?' ' Cash is the one in black." " What?! And he's coming here, bringing us a cake?! Really?!" " Spoken like a true fan girl. Yes dear, he is." " How do you know him? I know he was one of them who saved everybody from the fire." ' Oh, we go back about fourteen years ago. See, like I said, I lived in that orphanage back then. Well, I was ten then and he thirteen. My mom and dad, your new grandpa Larry and Grandma Raya, were his neighbors. They still live next to his and his brothers adopted dad, Dave Seville. You'll meet all of them and hear the whole story Saturday. Also, Grandpa Larry was the principal at their high school. They welcomed me in with open arms. We've been buddies for fourteen years. I was the second human, after Dave, to hold his son, Tom, after he was born. I've been one of the best buddies of Tom and all his cousins, and little sister Helen, since they were born." " cool. Think he'll like me?" The eight year old asked. " I don't see why not." Kathy was jumping all around. Her crush was on his way. " Will he marry me if I ask him?" " um, honey, he's married. Remember, he's got a son?" " Oh, dang." " But, I'll bet he'll be your friend." " Cool! Oh, who's his wife? I remember reading once they chipmunk boys married the chipmunk girls, but which one did marry?" " he married the girl in white, Katrina. We'll tell you everything Saturday." " Cool! Cool, cool, cool.! Cash is coming!"


	20. Chapter 20

New munks

Kathy and Cash

Kathy spent the next five minutes running around the arcade. She was elated to know her idol was coming to pay a personal visit. What's more, her new dad had told her he was sure Cash would be her friend. " Knock knock.' Cash said as he entered. " O my god! It's him! It's really him!" Kathy cried. " what's up with her?" Cash asked Jess. " She's a fan of the chipmunks. Of you in particular. Heck, she asked me if I thought you'd marry her if she asked. That's a mighty fierce crush. Try to let her down easy." Cash scratched the back of his head. " Hey Kathy. I'm Cassius Clay Seville. Call me Cash." " Whatever you say, Cash! I mean, of course Mr. Seville." cash laughed. " Don't call me Mr. Seville. Mr. Seville is my father." " I thought Tom was your father." Jesse said. ' He is. My chipmunk father. I'm talking human dad. Man, you always got to bust my jokes by injecting logic. Man, your just like Simon." " How can Tom be his dad and his son?" Kathy asked. " simple. I named my son after my dad. My chipmunk dad. His name was Tom." ' where is he? I'd like to meet him!' ' He's dead unfortunately." " Oh, when did he die?" 'Before my brothers and I were born. While our mom, vinny, still had us in her belly, he went off to try and help a family of rabbits escape a crazy hunter. Said Hunter shot him to death. But, we got our revenge when this hunter came back and tried to kid nap my wife. See, when we were thirteen, me and my brothers and our wives, then just our girlfriends, ran into a bunch of people you wouldn't want to meet in your nightmares, let alone in real life. This same hunter had kidnapped my wife when she was a baby and took her away from her sisters. So, they grew up for thirteen years. never knowing she existed. His brother, now our Grandpa Xavier, let her go and she was raised by a nice Chinese-American lady, named Macy Choy for those thirteen years. When Mrs. Choy died, she came to live with her sisters. I have a similar story." Kathy, listening intently to every word her idol said pressed him for more. " Tell me!" " Well, first, you have to know that Kate and I had our eyes open before our siblings. That's why we so vividly remember all of this. Now, see, my mom had to give up my brothers to Dave because it was going to a harsh winter and she was afraid they wouldn't survive. She knew Dave would take care of them and left them with him. When she came back after the winter, she saw they were so happy, she left them there permanently. Don't worry, she's been a major part n our lives for too many years to count now. She lives with Grandpa Xavier. Anyways, you want to know why I was there until we were thirteen, right?' Yes, Yes!" " Well, one day, a bit before the winter came. It was a nice warm day. Mom brought us out to get a little sun before that winter would roll around. Well, after a while, a big storm came in very suddenly. As mom tried desperately to gather us up, Alvin pushed up towards her. Just a baby trying to get closer to his mother, he didn't mean for what happened next to happen." ' What happened?!" ' He accidentally pushed me out of mom's arms and I felt into a mud slide. The running mud washed me into the near by river and was washed away. Mom didn't coming looking for me, cause she thought the accident killed me and she couldn't stand to see me if that had happened. Well, I washed down river and ended up on a river bank, half drowned to death. There happened to be a man camping here. Once the storm passed, he came out and found me. He nursed me back to health, and figured that since I acted like a human baby, I could be raised like one. I had a name disk sewn into my baby clothes by mom. That's how he knew my name. That's how Dave knew my brothers names. It did read Cassius Clay Chipmunk. His name was Agito Ikebana, a Japanese-American man, and he gave me his name. He raised me for the thirteen years, and even trained me in the ancient ways of the samurai. When he died, I came to live with my brothers and Dave adopted me as well and that's how I got the name Seville. I met Kate shortly after I arrived, and after a game of truth or dare, she and her sisters asked to be my and my brothers' girlfriends. We immediately accepted. O, by the way, the girls, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor, had known my brothers since they were all eight. But, they never had a serious boy friend, girl friend thing until Kate and I came along and saw to it that it happened. I actually made the guys kiss the girls by daring them, using the game. Oh, and The girls are just one month older than us. They were born on august 14th and we were born on September 14th." " Oh man! It's early November! Um, happy belated birthday!" Kathy spouted. " Thank you." he said, giving her a confident smile. She, being his biggest fan, blushed so hard you'd think her head was about to catch on fire. That's how red she was. " Um, um… Well, anything else you can tell me?" ' No, that's my whole origin." " Any other stories you could tell me?" " You want to know everything, huh?" " Of course! I love you! Ops! That wasn't supposed to come out." Cash laughed. " It's alright. I haven't been told I love you by anybody since my wife and daughter went out this morning. It's welcome." " oh, ok." " But, sorry dear. I'm happily married. I got two great kids by Kate. You were born 19 years too late.' " Oh don't worry Cash. She'll find a nice guy someday." Jesse said. ' Any shmuck would be lucky to land a girl as cute as her." Kathy blushed extremely hard again. " Alright, you want to hear everything, from when I was thirteen till now?" ' Yes!" Well, I looks I got the down grade from crush to friend." Cash laughed. " Alright, Jesse, cut the cake and set me up something to drink. Kathy, you'd better sit down. This is going to take a while." After about an hour and a half, Cash had told Kathy everything. Kathy stood there dumb founded. " I can't help but feel like I should left all the stories about the transformations into the dark munks and all the fights out." " Eh, she asked to hear it all. If she has nightmares for some reason, I'll take care of her. That's one of my jobs. By the way, I've been meaning to ask you how do you take care of a little girl?" " Well, Nell and Kathy are two totally different girls." " I know, but still." " well, first off, don't spoil her. Not getting her everything will build strong character." " Right." " Next, always let her know she's loved. When she goes off to school in the morning and tell her when she goes to bed." " Got it." ' And finally, make sure to put her in school. We'll talk to Larry this Saturday. We'll get her enrolled into the kids school. It'll be reopened after what would be Thanksgiving break." " You know, my dad was principal for your brothers in elementary, then got a good deal from your high school. Now, he got another good deal, and now he's the kids principal." " yeah, I know." " Who all is going to be there?" " All of us Seville's. Becky, X, mom, Jason, Heather and Cash." " The one named after you right?' " Bingo. And, Heather's expecting again. their going to name it after Kate. Ginger Leann Diggs." " Ginger is Kate's middle name, right?" " Bingo. Also, we invited Frankie and Elsa. Better prepare Kathy for them." Cash's phone went off. " I'll be home soon dear. I'll tell you why I took so long when I get home. I'm at Jesse's arcade. We already ate the cake." " your still a great baker Kate." Jesse yelled. ' You heard the man. Alright, love you too. See you Saturday, Jess. Kathy, give me a hug." " Yes sir!"


	21. Chapter 21

New munks

Super suit

Cash explained everything when he got home. " Oh, well, if you told her everything, I guess that would take a while." Katrina said. " So, what did you need me to get home so quick for?" " Simon wants us over at Xavier's." " When?" " ASAP.' ' Why?" " He wants us to help test that suit. You ready?" ' Sure. Kids! Let's go. We're going to see Andy." Tom had returned home from soccer practice by this point. In ten minutes, everybody, parents and kids were at Xavier's. " Hey mom." Cash said, leading the pack into the house. After hugging his mom, he cried " Hey, Geneva, James, how are you?" " Just fine master Cash." James said. Geneva nodded. Cash looked at them with his head tilted. " Oh crud, we did it again didn't we? Called you master when you asked not to years ago?" Geneva said. " We'll let it slide this time." Tom always loved coming in here. In the den, Xavier had updated the old pictures of his parents and aunts and uncles. They were taken about a few days after his mom's and aunt's birthday. All couples shoots. Where the pictures of their parents as teens had hung, now stood pictures of the great grandkids. " Guys, out here!" Simon yelled from the massive backyard. They exited to it. Jeanette walked over to her son. ' Thanks for bringing him from Practice.' she said. " Not a problem sis." Brittany said " so, how exactly are we going to test this thing Sy?" Alvin asked. " That's simple, Alvin." Andy said. " your going to fight me." " Me?!" " Well, you, Cash, and Theodore. The girls are welcome to join in as well." The girls shook their heads. The mother munks wanted nothing to do with this, other than being spectators. Cash lowered his head, letting his bangs, still distinct after all these years fall over his eyes. This was how he was made distinct from his brothers, physically anyways. From a distance, Cash and Alvin looked identical. You had to look for the subtle things. If you could make out bangs, you were looking at Cash. Whenever he did this head lowering thing, he was clearly in thought. Alvin referred to it as his second ' leader pose'. Once he was done thinking, he would always snap his head up and say whatever he had thought off. " Alright, but Simon has to fight too." He said. ' Me!? But, I have to monitor.." " Sy, I think Jeanette is fully capable of handling it. Especially if Tony and Nell help her. Now, get your butt over here." Simon had no choice but to comply. Though he said they were all equals, Cash was still the eldest brother. That meant his word law, in a sense. Xavier returned from inside the house. " Here you go." he said. Xavier had made mock ups of the boys weapons about a year ago. He was meaning to give them to the kids, to practice and hone their skills, to make themselves as good as their fathers. But, they would be first wielded by their fathers. " Just don't break them. I'm going to give them to the kids afterwards, to practice. Practice wooden tonfa, wooden sai, a wooden short staff and a wooden sword. Tom's practice kendo sword must be getting wore out by now, right Cash?" " Pretty much." He took the sword in hand. " Yeah, this feels right. Tom should have an easier time with this. it's made of strong composite wood isn't it?" ' you have got one sharp eye for detail." Xavier said. " we're ready with the monitor." Jeanette said. Alvin sized up Andy. Cash had given him and his brothers books on their weapons years ago. By studying these books, they had become masters. They knew all the tricks. So, what Alvin was doing right now, was scanning for any areas where he might be able to strike a pressure point and paralyze a part of Andy. " Take this!"

New munks

Dads vs. bodyguard

Alvin struck at where he thought he saw an opening. However, since this was a test and not laid out to him as an actual fight, Alvin made the mistake of telegraphing his attack. Andy dodged back, using the suit momentum enhancing fibers like springs to help him jump farther away. Alvin wasted no effort, however, and threw a sai straight at Andy. The sai struck just as Andy was landing. But, it was stuck in the fibers. " Man, I can feel the point brushing against my chest." Andy let out. " Jean, honey, make note of that." Simon said. " Small points still able to penetrate in between fibers." She wrote down. Andy felt lucky the fibers were thick enough to deflect the impact. He ripped the sai out and threw it back at Alvin, again making use of the fibers. Alvin did a matrix like move and the sai flew into a near by tree. Theodore attacked from the side. He rushed at Andy. He struck Andy repeatedly in the stomach with the end of the wooden tonfa." If I had my own Tonfa, it'd be metal on metal. He'd feel that for sure." Theodore thought. Andy grabbed Theodore and threw him to the ground. As he wound up another suit powered punch, Theodore spun his tonfa into Andy's hand. Andy grimaced, but no sound came out. " Think of making protective gloves.' Simon thought. Theodore rolled backwards into a crouching position. He still wasn't agile enough to do a full back flip onto his feet, like Cash could. He sprang up at Andy, striking Andy dead center in the chest.. The force knocked Andy back. " Reinforce chest area for greater resistance to upper body assaults.' Simon thought. Theodore went for a similar move, to knock Andy over. Andy hit him dead center in the gut with a super suit powered punch. The impact flipped Theodore through the air, before he crashed onto his back. IT didn't necessarily hurt Theo, but Theodore quickly realized something. When Simon had said before that this suit would make even the most basic punch feel like that of a prize fighter, he wasn't kidding. " Theodore, what would you say that felt like?" Jeanette asked her brother-in-law. " Like being hit with a hammer." He told her. Alvin had retrieved his Sai by now and was making several swipes at Andy, forcing him back. Andy leaned back and Simon drove the side of his staff into his back. This knocked Andy off his feet. " Well, Andy?" Simon asked. " Didn't feel a thing." " Jean, how we looking on the tensile strength?" " We started at 100 and it's only dropped two points." She told him. ' and that much damage is merely cosmetic." Simon said, feeling very confident. Cash rushed forth, making a series of swipes, making contact with the suit twelve times. Andy fell backwards. ' Your lucky.' Cash said. ' Why?" ' That was a technique of the ikebana style. Only one meant to kill. It's called the twelve minutes attack." " Twelve minutes attack?" " a series of twelve slashes are made on the opponents body. They are deep ones too. They cause the victim to bleed out, and, if they don't get medical attention in twelve minutes, they will bleed to death. Even with a wooden sword, the strikes are incredibly hard. They would leave nasty bruises. But, that suit most likely protected you. Jeanette, how much damage?" ' Amazingly, it only knocked it down another two percent." " But, if you were wearing that, you'd have some nasty bruises forming. And, if this was my metal sword and you weren't wearing that, well…" ' Remind me to never get on your bad side.' Andy said. " Relax. I may have the power to kill, but, I'd never use it. Here." Cash extended his hand to him. He pulled Andy up. Today, Andy gained a new level of respect for his employer.

New munks

Why he was discharged

After removing the suit to repair it, Andy was back in his regular attire. Now, he was sitting and enjoy a nice dinner with everybody. Vinny had cooked a large roast. She cooked pineapple, to release it's sugars and make it sweeter, then added a bit of cinnamon to it. She served up several baguettes and loaves of garlic bread. She did all this with the aid of Geneva. Tom was sitting closest to Andy. Tom recalled that Andy had told them about his discharge. But, he had never quite explained it in detail. Suddenly very curious, Tom had to know. " Andy?' " Yes Tom?" ' Why were you discharged exactly? Walk us through it." " I've been wondering that too, but I just never asked." Cash said. ' well, you really want to know?" Everybody nodded. " Alright, here goes." Andy cleared his throat and began.' Ever since I was a boy of five, I always thought the royal marines were top notch. You know, cool. Well, after years went by, I was presented with an opportunity. Mind you, though I was just fifteen, I looked older and we lied about my age. I was then allowed to enlist. After the training, I was sworn in, saying I was 19 now, when I had just turned 16. Afterwards, I worked hard and made corporal rank. But, you know that already." They nodded. ' Well, one day, I was in the staff house, helping sort some documents. I over heard a certain officer talking to his mates. His name was Michael Libby, and he was staff sergeant. Most called him just Mike. Well, Libby was telling his friends some stories. I came to find out that he had been moonlighting as a mercenary for a number of years. He even mention how, around the time I would have been four, he had fought some very tough thirteen year old boys. He was hired by a group of individuals who wanted these poor kids dead. Didn't say why. But, he let them live when they gave him what he was looking for, a challenge. He swore he never killed. He specialized in live capture, using a variety of tranquilizer based weapons." ' Sounds like Mr. L Remember him guys?" Cash said. " How could we forget?" Alvin asked. " Mr. L?" Andy asked. ' Fourteen years ago, we butted heads with a guy named Mr. L. It was pretty much exactly like those poor kids dealing with this Libby guy. He was hired by Xavier's late brother's kids. Jack had fought us and we beat him. After that, he went nuts in jail and hung himself. His kids, being just as crazy, saw us as the responsible ones. They hired many mercenaries to try to bring us to them alive. MR. L was exactly like that Libby guy. Live capture, everything. Never knew what happened to him. The Franklin kids died in an explosion they triggered after our final battle with them." " Wow. Well, shall I continue?' ' Please." " Well, I heard all this stuff and then I heard he was thinking of defecting, so he could be a mercenary full time. I got mad, as I am very patriotic. I came after him and told him off about it. Then he slugged me. That started a big fight. And, since he had more years under his belt and was older and bigger too, he almost beat me to death. The head general broke it up and after an investigation into it, the dishonorably discharged Libby and honorably discharged me." " Wow." Alvin said. " Yeah. A month later, my dad died and.. Well, you know this part." They nodded. " Sorry to make you relive all that." Simon said. " It's alright. The past is the past. What's done is done. You've got to live in the present, right?" " Bingo!' Alvin shouted. Once he went to bed, Adrian recalled what had been said about this Mr. L. He wondered if he and Libby were the same guy. " No, Libby always said he'd never go to the state, unless he had too.'


	22. Chapter 22

New munks

Meet and greet

Finally, Saturday had come. Everyone left for Jesse's house. His arcade provided him the cash to have an average two story house. The bed rooms and bath rooms were upstairs and everything else was on the first floor. The entire Seville clan arrived first, followed by Xavier and Vinny. Andy and his mother, Patricia, would be along shortly. Andy was working out in the gym downstairs at Xavier's house and would be along, along with Geneva and James, after he got showered and cleaned up. Next to arrive was Jason and his brood. Katrina began to wonder if Heather would be early, as she had rapidly grown far larger than the last time she had seen her. " Is the baby growing abnormally fast?" she wondered. " Oh well, it's not really my place to ask.". Finally, Larry and Raya arrived. They brought a foster child they were taking care of. Her name was Jessica. Cash figured, considering how much Jessica seemed to enjoy being around everybody and around Raya, Larry, Jesse and Kathleen especially, she would be a Talbot, and thus Jesse's 'little sister', in no time at all. Cash was expecting to get the phone call any day now. Finally, Frankie and Elsa arrived. They had wholeheartedly taken everyone's advice and had adopted. The kid's name was, oddly enough, Victor. The kids at the orphanage all thought he was an odd ball. He had a fascination with monsters, akin to Alvin's years ago, and had even said once that he wished he could be adopted by monsters. After hearing that, Frankie and Elsa knew they had found ' the right one'. Vick, as everyone called him, was elated to be adopted by monsters and was extremely happy that he had kids his own age to play with, none of which would ridicule him for his love of monsters. Kathleen was originally afraid of them after she was told what they were, but, she warmed up to them and kissed Frankie's cheek. Now, everybody was sitting around, chatting with Kathleen and Vick, the newest members of this 'extended family', as Alvin put it. About the time Andy and crew arrived, Raya and Larry had reached a decision and asked Jessica a particular question. After the eight year old agreed, Larry announced it. " Ladies and gentleman, I have the pristine honor of informing you that Jessica WILL be joining the Talbot family!" Kathleen was delighted. The , incredibly intelligent, five year old had really hit it off with Jessica and was unbelievably happy that she was going to be her adopted aunt. " Um, do I have to do anything special with Kathy, now that I'm going to be her aunt?" Jessica asked. " Just love her and treat her like family." Larry told her. " Done deal." Jessica said. Kathy couldn't resist hugging Jessica. " Ugh, Kath, too tight." She wheezed. " sorry, Aunty Jessica." Jessica laughed. Never in her life had she figured she would ever be called Aunty. She had to admit she liked it. Then, Frankie and Elsa announced that Vick would be going to school at the same school the new munks would. " But, isn't that an awfully long drive?" Raya asked. " Not really. Have you ever seen how Frankie drives? Trust me, Raya, our son will barely have time even register that he left the house, before he's at school." Elsa said. Now, everybody was off doing their own thing. Alvin and Andy got into a little hand to hand match. And by hand to hand, they meant an arm wrestling match. Alvin, of course, lost. " Oh, better luck next time daddy." Eliza said. Jesse served drinks and Cash spoke up. " I propose a toast. To this, our loving and extremely large family. Here's hoping that Jessica, Vick And Kathy will always know they are loved by everyone here. To family!" " To family!"

New munks

Really big family

Three days later, cash was watching TV at home. Not really paying attention to anything, just empty mindedly surfing the channels. IT was days like these, where Cash had nothing on his mind except the command to breath and keep his heart beating, that Cash loved the most. Katrina was on the phone with relatives. Through Vinny, they were related to God only knows how many different chipmunks. She had been given the task of contacting as many as possible and inviting them to Thanksgiving dinner, which was coming in a week or two. Brittany was to contact as many Seville's as she could. Jeanette was responsible for gathering all the plastic knives, forks and spoon they would need for the massive dinner. Eleanor was charged with finding someplace they could house everybody. All she could think of was The back yard of Grandma and Grandpa Seville. She made the call and they said they'd love to. She then called to tell them. This had happened before Kate and Britt had begun the calling. Currently, Kate was talking to Stella, Cash's, in his own words, ' umpteenth' cousin. He wasn't sure whether she was third, fourth or whatever. All he knew was she related to him and she was one of Twenty they could reach. " So, You'll be here Stella?" " Of course Kate. I'll bring Jake." Jake was Stella's husband. " Alright, just let me cross you off the list here. Great. Alright, see you then." " Love ya Cuz" " Love you too, bye." Katrina sighed a heavy sigh. She had reached Jake and Stella, Marty, Maddy and husband Tim, Kirk, Les and wife Justine and son Leo, Courtney and live in sister Leila, Charlie, Stephen and wife Donna, Carl and wife Greta, Zelda, and finally Nick. Now, she had one last pair to call. She dialed for Vinny's direct cousin, Julie and her husband Adam. " Hello? Julie Chipmunk speaking." " Julie? Don't suppose you recognize my voice?" " What? Of course I do. How could I forget my cousin's daughter-in-law, Katrina?" " Aw, thanks for remembering." " Huh? What!? I am not asking her that." " what?" " Adam just asked me to ask you something." ' What?" " I don't really want to." " Oh come on, it can't be that bad.' " he asked are you still hot?" " Ok, now I see why you didn't want too." " yeah…" " Hold on a second. I don't think I'm technically qualified to answer a question of whether I'm hot or not. Cash?" Cash was roused out of his serene state. " Yes dear?" " Am I still hot?" " What? Of course, why do you want to know?" " I don't. I'm on the phone with Vinny' cousin Julie. You remember her right?" " Sure, we saw them last Christmas." " Right, well, her husband wants to know if I'm still hot." " Give me the phone." he said, walking into the kitchen. " Julie?" ' yes cash?" " Tell Adam how hot my wife is, is none of his concern." Adam liked to mess with Cash, more than anybody. Adam really knew how to get under his skin. " He says he was just kidding. It's alright dear I know it was just a joke." " alright. Tell him I won't slug him in the face then, but if he's ever serious about it.. Wham!" " I think he knows. Anyways, what did you want?" " Well, Kate called you because we're having every one we can get together for a Seville and chipmunk family thanksgiving dinner. We'll have it at Dave's mom and dad's place. As for where everyone will stay, I guess it would be a hotel.. Or two or three." " Sounds like a lot of people." " Julie, I'm looking at a list of twenty different munks Kate has called. All have agreed to come. You and Adam are last, so how bout it?" " Of course." Cool. Here's the address, you can map quest directions." " Alright, see you then."

New munks

Tara: gone

After that last call, Kate was resting. But, she was still resisting the urge to laugh her head off at what Adam had said and the way everybody had responded to it. Brittany called her to tell her she had gotten Uncle Leo, aunt Chelsea, Uncle Ron, and Aunt Beatrice to agree to come. ' That's it?" Kate asked. " hey, not everybody is as down with this as we are. How many did you get?" " all twenty." ' Way to go sis." " Thank you." " Alright, I got to take Eliza to archery practice. Talk to you later. Love you sis." " Love you too. Send my love to my niece and brother-in-law." " Will do." Next, Jeanette called. She was in Sam's club, the 'buy everything in bulk' store, and asked how many packages of plastic utensils she should get. " well, I got my full twenty, so there's twenty packages. Brittany got four, so there's twenty four. Then there's all of us. Let me see, that should be another twenty, including Andy and his mom. That's forty four. Oh, and we have to include Grandma and grandpa, so that's forty six." ' well, here's a package of fifty, already prepared packs of utensils." ' That'll work. ' alright, bye." She caled Elanor tot ell her to tell Grandma how many to prepare for. " Man, wenty four besides us. Forty six all together? This'll be the biggest thanksgiving dinner we've had yet. All four of us and vinny, mom, grandma and possibly Andy's mom will be really busy." ' yeah, but, once it's all goin on, it'll be worth it." " True. Alright, I'll call her. Hope she doesn't have a heart attack." " Bye." Now, Katrina could rest for real. Cash had entered his serene state again. But, he was shaken out of it when a certain cat jumped onto his head. It was Helen's cat, Tara. Cash had gotten it for her for her third birthday. Tara had been Helen's constant companion for four years straight. But, Tara seemed to particularly like to annoy Cash. Whenever he wasn't paying attention, she would pounce on his head. " Arg, stupid cat." He said. " Why don't we get rid of her again?" " Because our daughter would never let you here the end of it." " That's true. She's a nice enough cat, she just likes to bug me." ' Aw, that just proves she likes you." " Whatever." " you know, she looks kind of sick." " Now that you mention it, she hasn't been looking to hot for about a month now." " Take her to the vet. I'll keep Helen occupied after she gets back from the library." " Alright. Come on Tara. We're off to the doctors." Upon uttering the word doctors, Cash heard the dog run and hide. " Relax Edge. I'm not taking you." Edge was the grandson of Lily and Ace, the munks dogs when they were teens. Lily was the boys dog and Ace was the girls. They had had puppies before dying at the ripe old age of fourteen ( Old for a dog). Those pups were given away. One to heather, as had promised, and one to Meagan, Jason's sister. The last one they kept. It had met another Pekinese and had puppiess about two years ago. Edge was one of those pups. Cash went to the vet. Cash came to find out that Tara was deathly ill. She contracted an off shoot of feline leukemia and was going to die in a day or so. Faced with the choice of letting her suffer or putting her out of her obvious misery, Cash made one of those decisions every parent hates. Later. " Where's Tara?" Kate asked. " She's dead." " What?" " The vet said she had some kind of off shoot virus from Feline Leukemia and would only last another day. He asked me that question. She looked to be suffering greatly, so I…" ' ohh… Man, I don't believe it. How long had she been sick?" " a month.' " I can't believe we didn't notice till now." " They said there was no cure." " good lord….How do we tell Nell her beloved Tara is dead?"


	23. Chapter 23

New munks

Brother tell sister

Tom had been hanging out with Tony and Ben today. They were at Simon's at the moment. Simon received a call which he didn't know how to handle. " um, Tom, your dad's on the phone." Simon said. " thanks Uncle Simon. Hello?" " Tom, can you do me a favor?" " Sure pop. You need me to go to the store or something?" ' Library actually." " Oh, you want me to pick up Nell, huh?" " kind of." " Something the matter dad?" " Well…" Cash told his son that Tara was gone. " Oh man. Nell will be destroyed." He said. ' what's the wrong Tom?" Tony asked. " Tara 's dead." " Oh, man, poor Nell." " I know. How dad?" " She was very sick. I took her to the vet a little bit ago. They said she had an off shoot virus from Feline leukemia. They said she'd live one more day and then that would be it. But, that whole day, she'd suffer greatly. So, rather than watch her suffer her last twenty four hours away, I had her put down. Granted her mercy." " oh man" Tom told Tony. " Geez, how do we tell Nell?" he asked. " That's what I called for, Tony." Cash said, over hearing him. ' Tom is the closest to Nell, we all know that. Tom, could you.." " Go to the library and break the news to her?" " yeah." " Alright. I'll take Tony with me and go get Libby. The more help I have, the better." " Good idea." " but, why can't you tell?" " We just don't have the heart." ' I see. Alright. See you later, dad." " Father?" Tony asked. ' I'll drive you." Jeanette said. Simon was in his chair, clearly thinking about old Cookie chomper the third. He, Alvin, and Theodore had taken in a stray cat when they were kids, before Cash had come along. They took care of it but for a short time. Soon after getting it, and Dave over coming his allergy to cats, Cookie chomper was hit by a car. Simon and the others had been hit hard by that loss. It was obvious that the news of Tara's passing, as she was loved by everybody, had opened that old wound a bit. He was in no shape to go. ' Thanks Aunt Jeanette." They went to Theodore's first. Theodore sat down, experiencing the same thing Simon was going through. Eleanor asked to go with them. The aunts waited in the car, While Tom lead his cousins into the library. " Excuse me, miss Andrews, do you know where my sister is?" Tom asked the Librarian.' Oh, Helen? She's in the fiction section right now I believe." " Thank you." And, she was right. " Nell.' Tom called. " Oh, hi guys." Helen said. That smile on her face made it so hard for tom to do this. " Nell, sit down please.' tom said. Helen complied. ' ahem, Helen.. I don't want to have to tell you this.. But, Tara… she's…. she's dead." " What?!" " Dad took her to vet a little bit ago, cause she looked sick. They found out she feline Leukemia, or some kind of mutant strain of it. They said she'd only last another day, and she would suffer a lot before finally kicking it. So, Dad, rather than letting her suffer, put her down. He didn't want to, but, it was more humane than just letting her suffer." Helen broke down. " tell me this is some sick joke." She said. ' I'm sorry Nell.' Tony said, putting his hands on her shoulders. " No, she can't be.. I know she's been looking sick lately, but I thought she just had a cold." Olivia hugged her. " Libby, tell me she's alive." " I can't Nell. But, think of it this way. It's good to cry. Let it out, you'll feel better. It's natural to mourn. But, remember this. Now, she's in a better place. She's waiting for you on the other side Nell. When you go, at a ripe old age of course, she'll be at the gates, just purring away." ' Thanks Libby." " Let's go home." On the drive back, Eleanor almost mimicked what her daughter had said.

New munks

Grandma Henny

The mood around the munks houses was very somber for a while. After a day and a half of crying, Helen had finally calmed to the point where she thought about what Libby had said. She found comfort in that, and wandered outside and looked up in the sky. " Just wait for me, Tara.' She said. Then came back in. ' what were you doing honey?" Katrina asked. " just saying good bye, for now, to Tara." ' I see. So, your better now?" ' yeah, I think so." Good. There's cookies on the counter if you want some." Thanks mom.' Helen grabbed a small handful and went to her room. " You think she's really ok?" cash asked. " Not sure, but, she seems fine. We'll just have to wait and see." " Yeah." Ding Dong. " Oh, hi Britt, hey Al." " Hey guys. Mind if we come in?" Alvin asked. " your always welcome here, bro." Cash said. " man, this place has never seemed so dreary." Brittany said. ' What do you expect? Helen's been filling the place with woe. Bumming everyone out. Can't blame her though. She loved that cat to pieces." Cash said. " Yeah. Sorry about that. Man, I've haven't seen the family so bummed since Grandma Henny died." Alvin said. " I know what you mean." Cash said. " well, sit down and I'll get us something to drink." Cash continued. " So, how's Helen doing?" Brittany asked. ' she just went outside, looked straight up to the sky and said good bye to Tara, for now." "For now?" Alvin asked. ' Yeah, she knows she'll her again one day." Katrina said. " Ah, right. If all dogs go to heaven, why not cats? It's nice to know we'll see Ace and Lily, and even cookie chomper again.' He said. The girls nodded. " it's good that she's getting over it. It'll never really heal till she gets up there and sees her again, but, for now it's smoothed over." Brittany said. " Here we go guys." Cash said. ' Thanks bro." Alvin said. ' So, Eleanor and Jeanette told me Sy and Theo took it kind of hard. Guess it reminded them of chomper?" Katrina asked. " Yeah. Alvin even cried a little after we got the news.' Brittany said. " Really? Alvin, cry?" Cash said. " shut it Cash. You have no idea how much we loved chomper. And we only had him so little an amount of time." " I do understand. I wasn't the most fond of Tara, but I'm still feeling it. And, I had a cat when I was a kid too." " What did you name it?" " I had named him Tiger, since he was orange and had stripes, like a tiger. I got him when I was five. I kept him for a month. He died when he fell down the stairs and landed wrong." " Man, what would Grandma Henny say if she saw us like this?" Alvin asked. " I don't even want to try to imagine it." Cash said. " You talk about mean talking." Katrina said. " I remember, back when I was pregnant with Nell. She was visiting us for a few days. Now, mind you I was two months along. So, my stomach was big. She comes down for breakfast and says " Katrina you ought to be ashamed of yourself." I Said " Why Henny?" ' Look at you. Your belly sticking out so far and your back bending in. You should walk with your back straight.' I said " But, henny, I'm half through my pregnancy." She said ' you shouldn't have gotten knocked up then, if you don't want my opinion.' I said" knocked up? I'm not some random bar tramp Cash picked up. I'm his wife. How dare you?" " I'm just trying to help you." She said. I said " how?' "cause, I've had several children, remember? I found out that if you let your back cave to far in, it'll weaken your spine and could hurt the baby. I know it feels better to stay as you are, but at least try. ' I knew then, though she had a cruel way of showing it, her heart was in the right place."


	24. Chapter 24

New munks

Father and daughter

Now, it was Friday. Tom had left early, to go to Jesse's arcade. He offered his condolences for the Tara, but said he really needed Tom to come and test his newest game, along with Kathleen.. That call had come yesterday. Katrina was out with her sisters. Every Friday, they went to get their hair done together. So, that left Cash, alone, with Helen. Helen was still asleep and it was rolling on to ten o'clock. Cash knew he had to run to the store, but he didn't feel right leaving his little girl alone. No matter how big the brain in her head was, at heart she was still a little seven year old girl. That would mean that it could freak her out to wake up and be alone. Especially now, after Tara died. Cash was afraid that her emotional stability was at all time low. He knew he'd have to wake her. But, he also knew that she looked so cute and content while sleeping. He didn't want to wake her when she looked that way. He noticed last night, after tucking her in, that she had that smile back. So, waking her, especially if she was having a good dream about Tara, was difficult for him. But, it had to be done. " hey, Nelly bell, you got to wake up." He said, while shaking her a little. She yawned and rose up, rubbing her eyes. She had Katrina's black mane of hair and her eyes. Both Kate and Cash had blue eyes, but Kate's were a lighter shade. Helen had a light shade of blue for her eyes, so that meant she had Kate's eyes. Tom had Cash's deep blue ones. " Huh? Oh, morning daddy." "Morning Nelly bell." " I slept in, didn't I?" " Yeah, but no one's blaming you. You alright?" ' Yeah. Incase your wondering, daddy, I've gotten over Tara. I know I'll see her again one day. But, is cat heaven connected to human and chipmunk heaven?" " Of course. God promises us that we'll see all our loved ones when we get up there. Now, why would the good lord not let us see our beloved pets along with our relatives?" " Good point daddy. Say, where's mom?" " Don't you remember what day it is?" " Oh, that's right. It's Friday. So, she's out with her sisters." " Bingo kiddo." " And Tom's at Jesse's arcade." "yup." " so, what about us?" " Hmm, well, I got to run to the store. You want to come with?" ' do I have a choice?" " No, not really." ' I was kidding daddy, you don't have to be so serious about it.' Helen said with a laugh. " Well, you get showered and dressed and I'll get you breakfast. What do you want Kiddo?' " Um, do we still have sausage, eggs, and cheese?" ' Running low on cheese, but I think we got enough for one thing. Why?" ' I could I have a sausage and cheese omelet?" " Sure. Alright, now up and at 'em." ' Yes sir!' In ten minutes, Helen had done just that. Now, she was sitting at the table eating, while edge sat in her lap. He never did this before, but it was like it was his way of telling her he loved her and was sorry about Tara. Funny thing, Tara and Edge got along great. A couple of times, the two were so close, it looked like Tara was kissing Edge. They had several pictures of this actually. Helen was petting edge. " Want some?" she asked the dog. Edge shook his head. " He prefers the dog food we give him over people food, doesn't he?" she asked Cash. " Yeah. But, can you blame him? It's got steak in it. The king of meat. So, you done eating?" " Yep." ' Alright, let's get going." " Can we take the bike?" Cash had a custom job, black Harley Davidson motorcycle. " Sure." Cash pulled it out of the garage. Nell ran and got their helmets. Nell's was white, as much of clothes were, with a black star on the crest. His was black, with a c emblazoned on it's front. " Let's ride!' She yelled.

New munks

Out with dad

Cash pulled up the store. As he always seemed to be, the cart man was out in the lot. His job was to gather up the shopping carts and bring them back into the store. His name was Marcus Stevenson, but he told everyone to just call him mark. He had known Helen practically since she was born. He bore a large soft spot for her. " Hey, Mark." Cash said. " Oh, hi Cash. And Nell. How are you?" " Just fine, all things considered." " Huh?" Mark asked. " We had to put her cat down the other day." Cash said. " Was Tara sick?" ' very." " I see, sorry about that Nell. I figured if you ever lost Tara, you'd never come out of your room. But, you seem fine." " Thank you mark. And, I am fine. Because, I know when God calls me home, I'll see her there.' " Very religious, isn't she?" ' She's the perfect blend of science and religion." Cash boasted. " ah, whom I kidding? She' perfect period." Cash said, rubbing Helen's head. " aw Dad!" Helen let out. ' You two need a cart?" " That would be nice." Helen said. Mark pulled one out of the line and gave it to Cash. " man, I can remember when Helen used to sit in that seat there and…." ' And Tom was in the basket it self? Yeah, we all do. My little girl is growing up fast." " Well, I got to get back to work." ' Alright. Talk to you later." They went about the store. Since she was friends, or at least on very good terms, with nearly everybody that worked in the store, they all said hello. Helen took half the list, which consisted of ten things, and went to find those things. Cash picked up a couple packages of Helen's favorite cookies. He felt like he had to apologize for having to put Tara down. The little demon in the back of his skull, known as dark cash, was screaming at him not to bother. But, the little angel that sat on the other shoulder, which for Cash, always took the form of agito, told him it was a good idea. Helen returned after a few minutes. " there. Grapes, bagels, cream cheese, and chicken. Is that all we need?" She asked. " Just pop. Your pick." ' Mountain dew, and cherry coke, please?" " Like I said, your pick. You want both, you get both." He said. After paying, they went back out. They waved to Mark again and left. Cash decided that, after swinging back by the house, he'd take Helen to visit her favorite people in the world. Dave and Ms. Miller and then Andy. After they put the food up, he told her. She wholeheartedly embraced it. " Let's go to McDonalds first, okay?" ' Sure." She said. So, now they were in the McDonald's parking lot, Cash leaning against the side of the bike and Helen sitting on the seat. " Hey, honey? I want you to know, if there was another way with Tara, I would have taken that road." Cash told her while they were eating. " It's alright daddy. I understand. Now that I think about it, I probably would have done the same thing." " Yeah. Well, let's get over Grandma Miller's." " I thought we were going to Grandpa Dave's." " I called him in the McDonald's. While I was in the bathroom, while you were waiting for the food to come up. He's not home." " Alright, let's get going." Ten minutes later. " Nell!" Ms. Miller cried. " Hey, Grandma Miller." " Honey, your mom called me earlier. Sorry about your cat." " Let's stop driving it any further, alright?" Cash asked. " She's gotten over it and knows she'll see her again. So, long as everything is cool with her, then it's cool everywhere, alright Becky?" " No need to get defensive." " It's my fault Beck. I had to make the decision. So.." " You didn't have much of a choice. None of us blame you, alright?" Ms. Miller asked. " Thanks beck."


	25. Chapter 25

New munks

Blaze

After a good long visit with Ms. Miller, Cash took Helen to see Andy. " Hello master Cash, and young Miss Helen." James said. Cash gave him the look. " Oh darn it. I did it again, didn't I?" " yeah, but, we all make mistakes." Cash said. " Is Andy around?" ' Yes. I believe he is in the gym and Miss Patricia is in the kitchen." " Where's mom and Xavier?" " They stepped out just a minute ago." " I see. Alright, Nell, go say hi to Patty and I'll go see if I can root out Andy." " Alright Daddy." Helen examined a stack of old pictures laying on the end table in the den. " Hmm… Oh, this is mom and dad when they were kids. I guess I do look like mom." She said, examining the old teenage picture of her parents. " Oh, here's Uncle Alvin. He has never not worn a hat huh? And, Aunt Brittany. I guess what she said about her always being pretty was true. Is that.. Yeah, it is, It's Uncle Theodore. What's that with him? Oh, that must be cookie chomper. They never mentioned they ever took pictures with him. He is really cute. To bad he got hit by a car." " You like cats a lot don't Helen?" " oh, Patricia." " Now Helen, we had this conversation. You can call me Patty." " And I've told you to call me Nell." " Touché. Point to the brainy chipmunk." " Say, patty, do you have any pictures of Andy when he was little?" " Of course. Come with me to my room." ' Alright." meanwhile, Andy and Cash had come up from the gym. " hmm, now where did that daughter of mine get to?" " I hear laughing up stairs." Andy said. " Oh no, please tell me mum hasn't.. oh no!" " What's the matter Andy?" " Oh please dear lord in heaven, don't let mum have the photo albums out." " Got some embarrassing baby pictures in there, Andy old boy?" " A ton of them. She loved snapping pictures of me when I was in the most awkward of positions. Once, I got stuck while trying to climb through this banister in our kitchen." " hat did you get stuck?" " Use your imagination." ' Not a good idea. I have a very vivid imagination. That's why my dreams and nightmares are always so whacked out." " I got my head stuck in the beams of the banister. I was yelling and screaming and making a big fuss. But, Mum viewed it as a photo opportunity. Meanwhile, I was calling to dad nearby to get me unstuck." Cash fought back the urge to laugh. " Go ahead." Cash shook his head. " I can hold it. But, I know I'll break out laughing at the most random time later." " Whatever." " Anything else you'd like to keep secret." " My old nickname." " And that would be?' ' Blaze." ' And your telling me because?" I trust you." " Alright. I'm all ears.' Meanwhile, in Andy's room, Patricia and Helen were having about the same conversation." So, why was he called blaze?" " because, he had this bad habit, you see. Whenever he got his hands on a lighter as a child, he would run to this bush we had in our back yard. Then, he'd rip a limb or two off of it and set it on fire. When we asked him why, he said it was because he liked the smell of the smoke. I had to admit, the smoke did smell nice. It reminded me of all spice. But, that wasn't the point. We taught him it wasn't right and stopped doing it by age six. But, the nickname stuck with him. ' there goes blaze." Relatives would say when he came running past them. " off to set another fire?" they'd ask." Helen laughed harder than she had for a few days. " ow!" She said. " What?" " I haven't laughed for a few days. now, I'm laughing so hard, I'm hurting myself." Down with the guys. " But, my nickname evolved." " How?" Cash asked. " My friends in the royal marines said I had a fire in my eyes when I fought seriously." " I see."

New munks

Embarrassing

Cash felt as though he had to make it up to Andy, now that his daughter knew his embarrassing secret. ' Hey, let's keep it fair." Cash said. Helen and Patricia, now down stairs looked up. ' When I was.. I think it was three, I used to get Sensei's sword off the wall when he wasn't looking. Then, I'd run around the back yard, pretending I was a hero. I'd set up action figures and sticks like villains and damsels in distress. Then I'd shout ' don't worry ma'am, I, Cash the invincible will save you.' Oh god, they caught me doing that during a weekend cook out one time. Ever since, it was ' hey, look, it's Cash the invincible hero.' But, now, I'm called that because of how I protect my family and friends. Mostly by Tom." " Wow, I uh… will I be fired if I laugh?" ' No." " psssttttttt." that was Andy's last attempt to hold it back, before he busted out laughing. ' Feel better?" Cash asked. " yes. Oh, that was good." " Hey, remember when you were two, Nell?" " Oh no, dad. Not that. Please, I'm begging you." " It's only fair." Cash said. " Fine. Just make it quick." " What happened?' Patricia asked. " Well, when Nell was two, she was into everything. One month, Tom, then Nell, discovered the joys of flushing random stuff down the toilet. We had just potty trained Tom, so, he knew what it was for, but he wondered what else he could flush. It started with simple things like tooth picks and paper clips. But, once he understood small things would go down, he tried larger stuff. Man, we had our drain backed up so bad. We couldn't figure out why. So, I moved the toilet and checked out it's drain and pipes. When I struck the pipe with a monkey wrench, I heard something rattle. Katrina, who was helping me, said ' what was that?' I said' we'll know soon enough.' I unhooked the pipes and found a marble, a glass one mind you, a big rubber eraser, two pencils, all the toothpicks and paper clips that didn't go all the way, and what looked like the missing lens from Simon's glasses. I Told him later and he said ' just throw it out. I'll get a new set.' Anyhow, we told Tom how it was bad and seemed genuinely sorry. Well, Helen heard us talking about it. She was a smart baby. She was talking very well by this point. But she still made the same mistakes babies make. She grabbed the garage door opener, while we were out and Eleanor was watching them for the time, and ran up stairs. Tom ran after her. How Ely didn't hear still confounds me. When we came back, we saw the garage door going nuts. I thought I'd put the opener up better than that, but, you know how it is with kids. We come in and we hear ' no, Nelly, don't!" " But I wanna." " You can't. Mommy and Daddy will be mad.' " No they won't. Please Tommy.' " I said no and that's final.' I run upstairs and yell ' let go of that opener.' They jump and the opener goes flying through the air. And, it landed right in the bowl of the toilet. I just thanked god it still worked.' Patricia and son laughed like there was no tomorrow. Helen's face turned beat red. " Aw, now Helen. I'll be fair and tell you one on me.' Patricia said. ' When I was little, I had this doll. My mum had sown it together for me, all special. Well, I was pretending she could fly once. Well, I threw her up in the air and didn't catch her in time. She fell on the floor. I didn't notice she was caught on a loose nail in the floor. When I picked her up, I ripped a big hole in her. I tried to sneak a needle and thread, so I could fix her. But, mum was in the den. She said ' what's the matter dear?' I didn't have the heart. Then, a big wad of her stuffing fell out behind me. " What's that?" My mum asked. I said ' would you believe I'm shedding?'

New munks

Alvin's cheeky

After another twenty minutes, Cash and Helen left for home. " oh, your home." Katrina said. ' When did you get back?" " An hour ago." ' Does it take that long to get your hair done?' ' We went shopping." " Oh." " What's that 'oh' mean, husband dear?" ' Not a thing. Just a utterance from realization. I didn't know you had gone shopping, so I learned something." ' " oh well, alright.' " Whew, saved my bacon there." Cash thought. ' I see you got everything on the list." " Yep." Katrina smiled. " Oh, whom I kidding, I can't act like Britt." " Why were you acting like her?" " Just to mess with you. Have a little fun. That was kind of mean though, wasn't it?" " I don't mind." " Let me make it up to you.' She said, kissing him. Helen looked away. She did the typical little kid watching a kiss and did a fake gag. " both of them huh? Man, we just can't have a little pda around our kids, can we?" " Not a lick it seems." Katrina said. She then knelt down to look her daughter in the eye. " so, you have a good time with daddy?" " I always do, mom. Daddy is the best. He's so cool and Sauvé and.." " Are you imitating somebody Too?" Katrina asked. ' Yeah, Eliza." " Why?" " Just to mess with you." Helen said, shooting a sly grin to her father. " Ooo, my daughter gets me back for me messing with my husband. I feel so betrayed.' " Aw, you know I love you mom." Helen cried, hugging her mother's neck. Cash laughed. Meanwhile, over at Alvin's. Eliza was typing away on the computer. ' and, there. That ought to keep the teachers happy." ' What's that sweet heart?" Alvin asked his daughter. ' The teachers said to do something while on break. So, I picked, from a list they had, to email sick kids in the hospital. They really enjoy talking to me. They always ask me what it's like to be the daughter of Alvin and Brittany." " And what do you tell them?"' I tell them that, though you guys are rock stars, your still parents. Meaning, you act like parents. Teaching me right from wrong, taking care of me, etc. They always seem to answer back the same way though. ' I thought you would have said ' it's the best. You can't beat growing up in a rock star family.' I tell them, I was trying to be realistic, but yeah, I do feel that way. Oh, I got another one. it's Debbie. You better go dad, Debbie's always talkative." " Alright honey, keep up the good work." He said, kissing her head. Next, Alvin went to his wife. She was bent over the dishwasher, loading it. " Mm-hmm.' He said. "Alvin, stop checking out my butt.' ' What? I allowed to check out my WIFE if I want, aren't I?" " Not when our daughter's in the other room." Brittany said slyly. " Oh, I get it." he said with a wink. " Did you call for me mom?" Eliza called. " No dear." 'Oh, I thought I heard you mention me. I thought you were calling for me. Oh for the love of, how do I get out of this im with out hurting Debbie? Oh, I got it. 'Debbie, I got to go to dinner. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Good night.'" She said, while typing the same thing. " What?" she asked her parents, who were looking at her from inside the kitchen. " I got a lot of other kids to talk to, I have to divide my time. I know Debbie likes me and i like her, but I have a responsibility to talk to as many of these kids as I can in a day. Besides, Debbie's not a bad case. She's just got a broken foot. They got her laid up for a while until she can walk on it, then they'll let her go home, with a cast of course." Her parents nodded. When Liz turned away, Alvin gave a quick smack to Britt's backside. " You cheeky little thing." Britt said. " couldn't help myself." He said.


	26. Chapter 26

New munks

Cover for me

Time passed. Today was the November seventeenth. it was a particular date in the Alvin Seville household. And, as Alvin's mind always messed up things ( See the episode : food for thought for plenty of examples), he couldn't remember what it was. He knew it was important though. " Morning daddy." Eliza said, sitting at the breakfast table.' Morning Lizzy-bear.' ' What's the matter dad?" " I know I'm forgetting something important, but it won't come to me. What is it?" " Liz smiled. She knew what today was. Today was her parents anniversary. Cash and Kate's had been Monday and they had quiet night at home, while Dave took the kids. Romantic lights, scented candles, soft music playing and a fantastic dinner for two. The whole nine yards. That's how they had spent it. Ely and Theo's would be this Friday and then Simon and Jeanette on Sunday. Eliza, unlike her father, was good at remembering dates. " Want me to help you remember?" " that would be nice." " Alright, let's think. It's not Valentines day, it's not Christmas, and it's not her birthday. Now, what other day does a guy get his wife gifts to celebrate?" " Oh God! It's our anniversary! How could I forget that!?" " You don't have anything to give her, do you?" " No! Wait! Loretta!" He ran to the phone and dialed a particular number. " Oh please be in, please be in." He said. " Hello?" " Loretta, it's Alvin. I need you to do something for me.' " Let me guess. What did you forget this time? Birthday?" ' That's already passed." " Hmm, too early for Christmas or valentines day. Oh no! Al, tell me you didn't forget your…" " I did. Could you help me?" " Sure. Let me see, taking Britt's tastes into account, she should like this necklace here." " Bag it for me, I'll be there in a minute." Loretta owned her own jewelry store. It was here that Alvin always got the best deals for the nicest Jewelry he bought for Brittany. ' I could customize it for you. Engrave her name, I love you, whatever." " Yeah, sure. How long will it take?" " Oh, an hour." ' An hour! Oh man. Oh, Liz could you.." " Cover for you? Sure. I don't like it when mom yells at you anyways. Her yelling hurts my ears. Get going dad." " You're the best daughter a guy could hope for." He said, kissing her forehead and rushing out. " Now, how do I keep mom occupied?" Liz wondered. Brittany was easy enough to distract initially, but it would be hard to keep her busy. " Hi mom." Liz said as Brittany entered the room. " Morning baby. Where's your father?" " Oh, he got a call. Uncle Simon wanted him to come help with something." " I see." That proved Eliza had a talent for lying, if she was able to fool Brittany. " By the way, Happy Anniversary mom." " Thank you honey." " So, what did you get dad?" " I know exactly what he wants. And, he'll get it later on tonight." " You aren't going to make babies tonight are you? We talked about this." Liz said. Brittany was always amazed at how much Liz was able to pick up on and how much she knew. " Of course, she lives in an information age bigger than the one we did. There's tons of stuff on the net she could have found. And, we've had the 'birds and bees' talk with her. " No honey, but nice guess. I ordered him that vibrating chair he's had his eye on." " The spine melter?" " Bingo. Said he wanted it cause he liked the one at Jason's so much." " That sounds like an old guy gift. Something old couples get each other.' 'Even so, it's what he wants and it's what he'll get. Besides, this things got a massager built in, and you and me both like a those. " So it's a gift for the whole family." " Right. Hmm, what do you think he's got for me?" 'no clue, but I can't wait to find out."

New munks

Unbelievable

Eliza was panicking. She was running out of ideas to cover for her dad. Alvin was supposed to be back in an hour. That was a half hour ago." What the heck is dad doing?" She wondered. She knew it was only a matter of time before her mom picked up that something was a miss. She could fool Brittany for only so long, she knew this. She'd tried to fool her for this long before, but, once the lie was about two hours old, Brittany' usually figured out what was going on. " hurry up dad." she thought. " Hey, Eliza, think you could help me out with something?" " Sure, what mom?" " I need to hang this picture, could you hold the ladder while I do?" ' Okay.' While steadying the picture, there came a voice in the back of Britt's head. IT was telling her that something was a miss. Once on solid ground, she turned to her daughter. ' Liz?" " Yeah?" " Be honest with me. Is Alvin really at Simon's?" " uh…" " I knew it. Where is he?" " Loretta's.' " he forgot our Anniversary?! And you covered for him?!" " I'm sorry for fooling you mom, but he felt really bad and was worried you'd be mad, so he wanted me to distract you, so he could get you a really nice gift. Please, don't be mad at dad. You know how messed up his head is." " Your right. I know how he is. I can't expect him to remember everything, whether it's important or not. I know he's been hit on the head a lot, it's not surprising his brain is so scrambled." " Yeah. So, Dad's off the hook?" ' It depends on what he comes back with." Liz looked down. She figured Brittany would tear into Alvin anyways, and then her ears would hurt. Brittany was fully aware of what this look on her daughter's face meant. ' Hey, it was a joke. And, you want to know something?" ' What?" ' He may have forgotten, but I put it off. This chair was an awful lot and I kept putting off ordering it. I knew how your dad wanted it, but I put it off. I guess I can't really point the finger at Alvin, not with that looming over me." ' I guess not." " I guess I thought that buying a gift would be accepting it." " You don't want to accept it? Oh no, something like that could spiral into divorce and then I'll be messed up and.." " Relax honey, I am not divorcing your dad. We've been through to much for that to happen. He's done to much on account of me. No, I'm not divorcing him and don't ever think of that again.' " Ok mom. But, what do you mean by not accepting it?" "What I meant that by 'accepting it', was I would be accepting how fast time is going by. But, I guess I don't have a choice and might as well enjoy it how it is, right?" " Right. Your so smart mom." " I am, aren't I?" Meanwhile, Alvin was running up the front walk of the house. He had chocolates, pink roses, and the necklace. But still, he was thinking ' I'm dead, I'm dead, I am so dead." When he reached the door, Brittany was waiting. " I tried dad.' Liz said. Alvin hung head. " I'm dead, aren't I?" " No." " Why?" " Because, I put it off. I just want to accept how fast time was flowing and buying a gift would be accepting it. So, we're both guilty, so let's just forgive, forget, and enjoy it. I love you Alvin. Happy Anniversary, honey." " Happy Anniversary. Here." " Man, you really thought you were trouble huh? Chocolates, roses, and a. oh my this is beautiful. Thank you. I love you Alvin." " I love you too, Britt. But, where's my gift?" 'It's coming tonight." " Whoa, 'that' on our anniversary? Usually I get 'that' as a present on my birthday and valentines day." " Sorry to disappoint you honey, but it's not 'that'. Though… We'll talk about this later. No, I ordered that particular thing you wanted.' " The chair?" " Yup." " Oh, man. Am I glad I married you."

New munks

Breakfast

Sunday morning arrived. Simon was first to wake up in his household. He yawned, stretched a bit and put on his glasses. He then glanced to his wife. Jeanette was still resting peacefully. " IT would be a shame to wake her right now." He thought. He kissed her cheek and then went out into the hall as quietly as he could. He entered his son's room. Tony was asleep at his computer screen, with the screen still on. It was on chemistry website. Clearly, he had been up for a while, doing research for something, and had fallen asleep at the computer. This happened at least once every week. Simon shook him a bit. " Eh? Oh, morning father." Tony, who had fallen asleep with his glasses still on, fixed them into place. he glanced at the date in the corner of the screen. " Oh, it's the twenty-first. Happy Anniversary, father." " Thank you son." ' Mother up yet?" " No. And, let's keep it down, so she doesn't wake up for a while. I have an idea." ' yeah? I'm listening." " Well, we've got those pancake puffs in the refrigerator, along with eggs and cheese and bacon. I say let's make her breakfast. What do you say?" " Sounds good to me, father." " Tony?' ' Yes?" ' You know you can call me dad right? And Jeanette mom?" "I just like to be proper and polite." " and that's good. But, you have to know that you don't have to do that with us. Now, don't go around calling us your old man and old lady or anything, but mom and dad is fine." " Okay, dad." " Caching on quick, as always." the younger chipmunk nodded. " Alright, Let's go." Tony and Simon crept down stairs as quietly as possible. ' so, what first?" Tony asked. ' I'll get to work on the bacon, you crack the eggs, and let's set the puffs out to take the chill off them."' ok." " So, are we going to make scrambled eggs?" " For you and me, most likely. But, for your mom, we're going tom make her a ham and cheese omelet." ' What's the bacon for then?" "Us. And, your Jeanette if she wants any. Now, get me some ham." " Yes sir!" Jeanette, meanwhile, was woken by the smell of the bacon sizzling." mmm, bacon. Simon, I think Tony is making us breakfast. Simon?" She looked and Simon was not there. ' Oh, then they're both.. Oh, they're so good to me. Well, the least I can do is lay out their church clothes for them. Now, where is my dress?" Meanwhile, Simon couldn't hear the gentle shifting about of his wife, over the sizzle of the bacon. " Tony, pour some orange juice." " Ok dad." He got a stool, positioned it carefully and got up on it carefully. " I can't wait until I'm tall enough to do this with out a stool." he thought. " How many dad?" " Now that's obvious. Three. You, me and Jeanette." " Right. Ask a stupid question." Simon flipped the omelet. " Alright, that's done. Get me Jeanette's favorite plate, son." Tony retrieved said plate. Simon loaded the Omelet onto the plate. ' Alright, let's pop the puff in the microwave. ." " How long dad?" " I'd say a minute will get them good and hot." Meanwhile, Jeanette had the clothes laid out. " Now, I need change." The church everyone went to had a tradition. All the couples that had an anniversary that week, would come up and put change in for however long they'd been married. Since they had been married nine years today, Jeanette grabbed nine pennies. Finally, she went down stairs. " Morning mom." " Morning baby." " Morning honey, happy anniversary." " Happy Anniversary." Jeanette returned. " Oh my, your so good to me and give yourselves so little. I mean, an omelet for me and just eggs and bacon for you? Come on, at least eat some of these puffs, please?" " alright dear. Tony, you heard your mother." " right."


	27. Chapter 27

New munks

Interesting service

While Simon and brood, as well as everyone else they knew, was getting ready to go to church, another couple was shifting about as well. " are you sure about this?" The man asked. ' Yeah. It's only right to bring our kids up in church. Besides, I found this nice little church nearby. They seemed very friendly. I'm sure they'll welcome us." his wife said. " Hey mom, are you two ready to go?" " Almost dear. I've just got to help your father put on his tie." " Why can't I go informal?" " Because, this is our first official time there, and I want to make a good impression." " Yeah, I've got a long history of 'good impressions'." " That was your old life honey. This is a fresh start." " yeah, but, this is close to where they live." " Who?" 'The chipmunks, and their kids and relatives." " Oh, what's the likely hood we'll run into them there? Besides, it's a church and it's Sunday. I don't think they'll be starting any fights." ' but I…"" honey, you're a changed man. I know, I helped in that, remember? They'll see you're a family man now and won't bother you." " I guess." " Alright, let's go.' The large family, consisting of six kids and the parents, went to the church. They sat in the back. " Alright, now, have their been any couples who've had anniversaries this week?" Dave and Ms. Miller pointed back to their kids. " Oh that's right. The eight of them. Come up guys." The eight adult chipmunks got up and went to the front. " What were you saying about the likely hood of running into them?" The man asked his wife. ' just watch." " Alright, Cash, you put in the change. Everybody count." " one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine." The church counted out. Alvin, Simon, and Theodore went through the process as well. ' Wow, nine years. Alright, everybody." The church sang 'happy anniversary' to them." ' thanks guys. It's hard to believe. Nine years and two kids and Kate still puts up with me." Cash joked. " I'm surprised I haven't been kicked out of the house yet." Alvin added.' That's cause we love you, dear." Brittany said, kissing Alvin's cheek. " Aw!' The crowd went. " Now, then, we will have prayer." The pastor said. So far, the man, his wife, and their kids had yet to be noticed. The man was thankful for that. After the prayer, they took up offering, and then had what was called ' fellowship'. That meant that, while the singers sang, everybody went and shook hands with one another. After fellowship, which the man and his family and conveniently avoided shaking hands with the munks, the pastor spoke up. " I'm sorry. I completely forgot. Charlene? Could you and Harry come up?" The pastor called to the man and his wife. " Alright. Come on Harry." " But, Charlene.." But, he complied anyways. " Now, brothers and sisters, we have two new members joining us today." " If you'll have us." Charlene said. The assistant pastor said he would and gave his vote for them and so did the deacon. " Then, so long as no one objects, welcome." ' Thank you." Charlene said. " Now, then, everyone come and meet them. Come and welcome Charlene and Harry chipmunk." Once everybody shook hands with them,. It came the munks turn. Cash was in front, with Alvin behind him. " So, your back huh?" Cash asked Harry, while shaking his hand. " Please, guys, this is church after all. Let's talk after words." " We'll be waiting." Harry gulped. " Charlene, get ready. You could be a widow very soon." " Oh, your worrying to much. Oh, hi, I'm Charlene. Nice to meet you." " Hi, I'm Eleanor Seville." " I know who you are. Who doesn't know the world famous chipmunks?" " Say, we'll talk after church, alright?" Eleanor asked. " Ok."

New munks

Confrontation

Harry was nervous as he could be. " They are going to kill me." He thought. He just prayed Cash didn't have his sword. That's when the eight came out, followed closely by Adrian. " Guys, you stay here, while talk to Charlene and Harry, alright?" Eleanor asked the kids. ' I guess, just make it quick, aunt Eleanor." Tom said " Two minutes." She said. The mothers and father split up. " Alright, now we can talk." Charlene said. The girls just kind of stared at her. " Why are you looking at me like that?" " It's kind of hard to trust the wife of Harry." Brittany said. ' Look, I know what he did, but, I swear he's a changed man." Charlene begged them. ' And how do you know so well?" " Cause I'm the one who changed him." " all wives change their husband." " Ours is a special case. You see, after the kidnapping incident, Harry was sent to prison. I happened to be working at the prison where he was sent. I'm a licensed psychiatrist. I was the prison, well, shrink.. At the time, I was going through a very rocky part in my previous marriage. After Harry opened up to me, we started talking. He seemed to be acting as the shrink for me, more than I was for him. He actually cared. Well, after six years, He was released. I had just divorced CJ, my previous husband. We started dating and after a few weeks, we decided that we had known each other long enough to more than make up for the short dating time. After that, we married. Now, my oldest four, Rex, Roxy, Zack and Nikki, are mine by CJ. So, their Harry's step children. Now, the two smallest, Jake and Holly, are mine and Harry's. See, he takes care of his step kids like they are his own and he tries to be a good dad for all the kids. I'm begging you, just give him a shot." The girls looked at each other. " Eleanor, what do you say?" Brittany asked. ' I say we try. It does seem he's changed. But, Any funny business and I'm sure the guys can handle him." " Thank you, Eleanor. So, now that's over, allow me to introduce myself. My name's Charlene, nice to meet you." ' I'm Brittany." " My name is Jeanette." " And I'm Katrina." " Those your kids?" " Yup. The boy in dark green and the older girl next to him in the light green are mine and Theodore's. Their names are Olivia, the oldest, and Ben." " the one in pink is mine and Alvin's, Eliza. She's the oldest of the cousins." 'Then there's my son, Tom, there in black. He's second oldest, born just a few hours after Eliza. And, then there's his little sister there in white, Helen." " She's very cute. All the girls are." " Thank you. Your girls a very cute as well." " Thanks. Is the boy with glasses yours Jeanette?" " Yes. That's my and Simon's son, Tony." Meanwhile, Cash was leading the interrogation of Harry. " So, why are you back?" " Because Charlene wanted to move here, put the kids through a good school. And, you know, the wife is boss." " That's true, but.." " Cash, I'm a family man now. Let me explain." He explained exactly what Charlene just had. " And so, now we're here. Please, I swear, I've given up my old ways." " Yeah, we've heard your swearing before." Alvin said. " I'm sorry Alvin. But, that was years ago. People change. You all have to admit, you did." ' As much as I hate to admit it, He's right." Alvin said. " Alright, we'll give you a chance, but, if you pull anything at all, we'll be on you so fast….Cash said. ' I understand. But, know that I only want what's best for Charlene and the kids. Speaking of that, I know it may be imposing on you, but, could you help me find a job?" ' No one will hire you, huh?" ' No." " If you swear, on whatever honor you have, not to try anything, we'll see what Todd can do tomorrow." Cash said. ' Thank you!"

New munks

Rock and roll duel

Today was November twenty second. Being men of their word, the guys took Harry to the label. Todd said, as long as Harry took a polygraph and passed, he could work there. They would figure out his title later. Charlene was with and made the company psychiatrist. So, they all went to give Harry his polygraph. Meanwhile, the girls were rushing about trying to get all the preparations made so they could leave tomorrow. Thanks giving would be this Wednesday. They'd have to be there by late tomorrow. They were working hard at Xavier's, as it had the biggest kitchen. The kids, while trying not be bored, soon did become so. " Let's go out somewhere." Tom said. ' Alright, let's just ask our mom's if it's cool.' Olivia said. " Mom, can we go out somewhere?" Eliza asked Brittany. ' huh? Oh, I don't mind. Girls?" " We don't care either. Just take Xavier and Andy with you." Jeanette, always airing on the side of caution. Especially since the whole incident some time ago. " Okay. Bye. We love you.' they cried. " Come on Grandpa Xavier. Let's go Andy." Eliza said. " Alright." They went to the park closest to their house. Meanwhile, the other chipmunk kids, Harry's lot, were already there. " So, you're the chipmunks kids huh?" Rex, the eldest brother asked. " Yeah. Pretty cool huh?" Tom asked. " I guess it would be, if you guys weren't total disappointments." " What's that?" Eliza asked. ' you guys are clearly no where near qualified now, nor will you ever be, to take over after your parents." Zack, the 'Tony' of their group, said. " You think so?" Tony asked, becoming insulted. " We know so." Zack said. " So, you think you are good enough?" " Of course." Roxy said. Basically, all of Harry's kids are the more ' punk' versions of the new munks. " Face it, we've had practice. The boys and I play while the girls dance, and mom sings." " ha! You can't sing?" Eliza said. " So what? I'll bet you sound like nails on a chalk board." Nikki said. " Especially miss greenie here.' " Why you…" Olivia said. " So, you think your hot stuff?" Tom asked. " We know it.' Holly, the youngest girl said. " Yup." Her brother Jake added. " I say we can beat you anytime." Rex said." You pick the time and place." Tom said. " How about right here, twenty minutes from now?" Rex asked. " Let's go Grandpa." The lot said, tugging on his arm. Ten minutes later, Andy had called Cash." What's up Andy?" " Xavier and I took the kids to the park. Harry's kids happened to be here and they all got into it. Now, in ten minutes, they're all going to be back at the park for a ' duel'." " Oh boy. Harry?" " yes?" " Your kids and our kids are having a duel in the park in ten minutes." " Oh no. They're trying to match their rock and roll skills with your kids?" "Yup.' ' Oh no.' " They'll be fine dear.'. " but, Char, they'll be destroyed. These are the children of the chipmunks for crying out loud. Our kids can dance and play, but can't sing. The guys kids can do all three. Right guys?" ' Yup." Alvin said." And, you know how sore of losers Rex and Roxy are." " then, we'd better get to them, before they start a fight." " Let's go.' Cash said. But, when they arrived, it was too late. The new munks had beaten Harry's kids by performing the song ' we're not gonna take it', by twisted sister. Rex came and slugged Tom and Roxy pulled Eliza's hair. When their parents pulled them apart, Harry said " I'm so sorry about this. You two are grounded. Will this affect our jobs?" " Not a bit. Kids will be kids." Simon said. " thank you. Now, kids let's get going." While leaving, rex and Roxy shot their tongues out. ' Hmph, 'chip punks'." Tom said. " uh huh." The others agreed.


	28. Chapter 28

New munks

Diamond dolls

The next day, Katrina and sisters woke up at exactly the same time. They quickly showered and dressed. ' Alvin, get up!' Brittany demanded. " huh? Britt, it's only 7:30. The sun's barely up." " Yeah, but we need all the time we can get to get grandma and grandpa's and get ready tomorrow." ' oh, right." "go get Eliza up and showered. I need to get stuff ready.' "meanwhile. ' Theodore, where's our suitcase?" " Um, in our storage room I think." " could you go get it for me, honey?" " Alright." and. " Simon? Is the car loaded yet?" " Working on it." An of course. " Cash, did you ice down the cooler?" "Of course I did honey." Now, Everybody was in their cars, heading to grandma and grandpa's. Cash always enjoyed the drive out here. The country side was beautiful. But, Katrina was nagging. " honey, come on, drive faster." " Hon, I'm pushing on as fast as can. But, there is that pesky speed limit." Katrina looked away, and out the window. She was trying to calm down. ' Hey, hon, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take that tone with you. I know your in a hurry and…" " it's alright. I just want to get there, fast as we can. ' Let's see if I can't push the speed limit with no one noticing." ' No, it's alright. I know it's a few hours drive, regardless of how fast we drive. I might as well enjoy the ride.' " I'll get us there as fast as legally possible." he promised her. She nodded. " Come on over to my house.' Helen was singing. " Hey Nell sweetie, can you and Liz and Libby sing 'diamond dolls' yet?" Katrina asked. " We've just about got it nailed." Diamond dolls, like the boys Christmas song, was the most popular song the girls had in their arsenal. Naturally, their daughters had to learn it. The boys had nailed the Christmas song and the witch doctor as well. They just didn't have the dance moves down for the new of version of witch doctor yet. " Yawn!" Tom let out. " Bored?" Cash asked his son. " yup. I've counted cows for the past ten minutes. But, 'yawn' it's like counting sheep. It's putting me to sleep. Good milk and cheese may come from the happy cows of California, but entertainment doesn't. ' Alright. Let me think… oh I know. I'm Henry the eighth I am.' ' Dad, we stopped singing that when we were five." " Alright, make me feel old. Um… I know. Now, where's that cd?" He felt around. Once, his hand slid up Kate's leg. ' Ahem.' ' That's definitely not it. To soft, to…ooo, honey, are you using some new body wash? So smooth." " Cash.. Not in front of the kids." She said, winking. " Right. Now, I know it's around here somewhere. Ah! To quote Simon, Eureka! I found it." He popped it in and turned it to track eleven. Nell lit up upon hearing the familiar beat. " Mom, come on. This is our song. Start it over dad." "We don't have to do, What you tell us to do no more You get what you need And you don't want it anymore, We don't cry now, We don't know how ." They began. Cash pulled along side Alvin's car and motioned for Brittany and Eliza to roll their windows down. When they heard it, they had to join. Alvin was laughing hysterically at this point. He put his phone on speaker and called Simon. " Listen to this and then look at Cash and Kate's car." Simon laughed and put it on speaker. Jeanette couldn't resist. Cash called Theodore. Soon as Libby and Eleanor heard it, they were singing too. The dads were tapping their hands on the steering wheels and the boys were swaying back and forth. Katrina laughed when they finished. ' And you said you 'almost' had it nailed?" 'I never said what part we didn't have down yet." Helen said." Point to you, daughter dear."

New munks 

Les

( For those of you wondering, yes, I do like to post chapters that are three parts long. It tells the story in the most effective way I have found.)

Finally, everybody was there, safe and sound. " Grandma!" The kids shouted when the exited the cars. " Oh, my babies. So good to see you.' Grandma Seville said. Time had been extremely good to her and Grandpa. They hardly looked any different than years ago, when the munks were out here to get married. " No, Grandma. Our babies.' Brittany said, hugging her daughter around the neck. Eleanor pulled Olivia and Ben to her. Jeanette put her hand on Tony's shoulder. " you don't trust me with them?" Katrina smiled. ' Just making a point. Go, kids, hug grandma.' " Hey grandpa." Tom said. ' Tom. Lord, you've grown over the last year. I remember when you weren't even tall enough to reach your dad's knee." " I had a growth spurt." " I see that. You still into that Samurai stuff?" " Stuff? It's a way of life grandpa." ' I know. But, you still like it?" " yeah!" " Well, wait right here." Grandpa went inside and returned a minute later, with a bag about to burst, since it was so full of old DVDs. " All the old classic samurai movies, digitally remastered. Got a sweet deal on these, since my buddy works at the store they sell these. I slipped him a hundred bucks for the all these." " There's got to be twenty movies in here." " Twenty five. I counted." " You rock Grandpa. Oh man, some of these I've been looking for forever." " Your welcome." " What about me?" Eliza asked. ' Don't worry dear. I got what you'd want.' Grandma said. She pulled an Dora the explorer book bag out of the house. It too looked ready to burst. " Clothes! Accessories! Oh my god. I could make at least a hundred outfits with this. Thanks Grandma.' Eliza said. Grandma retreated once more, and brought a huge pan out. " Libby, Benny, would you like the fudge I made you?' " Yes ma'am!" " Urg! Here you go Tony." Grandpa said, lugging the hardcover versions of all the books Tony had been searching for the past two years. ' Finally. Thank you grandpa." " You gonna say hi to me?" Said a chipmunk voice. " Cousin Les!" the kids shouted. Les and his wife Justine were second cousins to the chipmunks. Les and Justine were adventurers/archeologists. Sort of like Indiana Jones. They always seemed to get into messes like he did. They blamed the curse. The chipmunk curse. Basically, the curse was code for the fact that, when you're a talking chipmunk, all the weird things that normal consider fantasy or impossible become reality and come knocking on your door. " So, you got a story to tell us?" Ben asked. Les always had stories to tell. " Yup. Have I ever been with out one?" ' No." " Well, come inside and I'll tell you. It might not be as good as your dads' thought, I mean, they've fought more monsters than me. Right Ash?" " it's Cash." " You never could get his name right." Vinny said. Xavier, Andy, and Patricia looked like they wanted to laugh. " But your catching up. You dealt with that vampire while running through Transylvania, we fought Damien. You've fought a wolf man, we've dealt with two, one on two occasions. You haven't deal with a Frankenstein monster, and there's no need to. And, you haven't fought a demon, though you have dealt with ghosts." 'That's the whole list." ' So, what was it this time?" "a mummy." " Mummy, as in, like, 'curse of the mummy'?" Alvin asked. " yup." ' Ok, that's one up on us. Let's hear it." Cash said.


	29. Chapter 29

New munks

A chipmunk meets the mummy

" So, how did it happen?" Alvin asked Les. ' Well, Justine and I were on a flight to Cairo. They had discovered the tomb of a forgotten prince. A lost son of one of the great pharaohs. Naturally, we were intrigued and had to come see it. Funny thing, the in-flight movie was the old classic mummy movie with Boris Karloff." Les said. ' And?' " Well, As you know, Justine can read the old hieroglyphics. After she read them, and read the name of the prince out loud, it awakened the mummy. People began disappearing. We couldn't figure out what was going on. So, one night, hosted a stake out. We set up a fake man in order to draw whatever it was out. We thought it might be some strange animal and as such, we loaded the fake with meat and other such things to make it seem more human like. It scared us out of our hides when we saw it. A mummy. It brutally attacked the fake man. After that, it fled back into the tomb. When we looked at the meat, it looked as though it had been there for years. It looked rotten, like any life left in it was sucked out. The normal red color was gone, the blood completely drained. It was like the mummy was looking to replenish it's old life force. Seeing the fake for what it was, it sucked out what energy it could get and tore it apart. I feared that missing people had met the same fate. So, we kept all elderly members of the party outside, strength in numbers. Then we took a number of the able-bodied folks with us into the tomb. We left some to protect the weaker party members. We took torches, guns, knives, blunt objects. Anything we could use as a weapon. We got to the main room. It was a huge circular room, with sarcophagi along the walls. Thinking of many an old cartoon and movie I had seen, I went and opened a few of the coffins. Inside were a few members of our crew. They ranged from being completely drained, like that meat, and thus dead, to half alive and looking badly dehydrated. Justine noted the main coffin in the center of the room. I said ' you don't think?' and everybody nodded. So, I opened the lid. There it was, the mummy. Just laying there. I pondered what to do for a moment. While I was wondering, the things eyes snapped open. Let me tell you, that's one of the scariest things you can go through." " Try being bitten by a vampire, turned, becoming a danger to your friends and family, and finding out that, unless the vamp who bit you is dead before sunrise, you'll go 'poof'. Try that and then tell me about scary." Brittany said. ' point to you Brittany." "Or how about Theodore? Remember? Werewolf?" ' yes I know. I should have said it was one of the scariest things I'VE ever seen."" That's better." " Well, t e thing shoots his hand up and grabs my main assistant, other than Justine, by the throat. We sliced it's arm off with the knives, but it didn't slow down. He rose out, and with some unimaginable strength known only to the undead, flung the lid of the coffin at us. That lid took four of the eight of us to push it off to begin with. He just hurled it at us. A couple of the guys were screaming ' we're going to die!" " " Yeah, I probably would be at that point too.' Theodore said. " yeah, but, you'd most likely have Ely and your brothers with you. It was just me, Justine, and a bunch of guys we barely knew. As it approached, I tried to remember how to kill these things. I recalled a movie where they burned the mummy to death. I figured, if it worked there, it may just work here. We didn't have much else to try. So, I took some old lanterns we had put around the rooms and flung them at him. His bandages got soaked in the lantern oil and instantly burned. With nothing of it left, we pray it is dead for good."

New munks

The villains take a break

" 'whistle' that's something else les.' Cash said. ' I know. I blame the curse." " Curse?" Ben asked. ' Yeah, the chipmunk curse. We all have it." Les said. ' Who put it on us?" Liz asked, remembering from movies that curses are put on people by other people. " Nobody, we're born with it. You may call it the curse of being born with extremely bad luck. The chipmunk curse is basically, whatever weird thing from movies and such you can think of, it may just happen to you. I mean, Vampires, demons, Frankenstein monsters, mummies, ghosts. Things like this just don't come knocking on anybody's door." Les said. The kids nodded. " so, basically, we're cursed to run into monsters?' Tom asked. " Hopefully not, but you never know." ' so Les, where is Justine?" Simon asked. ' up stairs, taking a nap. We got here an hour ago. She's been asleep since we got here. It was a long flight and she takes jet lag pretty hard. It barely affects me. So, she's been sleeping the jet lag off." " Ah." " you have a hotel to stay in?" Alvin asked. " Of course, and it's just a ten minutes drive from here. Now, I was supposed to tell you something, what was it?" " You've got a memory almost as bad as my dad's." Eliza said. ' Watch it young lady. Or somebody isn't getting a certain bracelet she wants so badly for Christmas." Alvin said. ' I'll shut up and be good now." she said. Alvin messed with her hair. " That's better. You think of it yet Les?" " Oh yeah. Justine told me to tell the girls that she'll be here good and early and do whatever she can to help out tomorrow. She said, while she may not be able to cook, she figures every bit of help you can get would be appreciated." " And it is, greatly." Eleanor said. " Well, I'd best get Justine to the hotel for the night." He went upstairs and fetched his wife. She was still groggy, but managed to say ' night everyone.' " Night Justine." " Night guys!' Les called. " Alright girls, let's get your food stored away." Grandma Seville said. " right. Guys, could you be the dears we know you are and unload our suitcases and such?" Brittany asked. " Sure thing sis." Cash said. ' Let's go guys." " Kids, you watch TV or something. We'll have dinner after we get everything in. We'll order something, since I don't feel like cooking before Thanksgiving." ' Alright Grandma.' The kids said. ' But, Grandma, you have to get the turkey going." Jeanette said. " The rest can be warmed back up easy by putting it in the oven for a little bit, but the turkey…" " It's well in hand Jean, dear. I'll get it started as soon as we eat dinner." " Alright." Later, the guys were watching TV along side their kids. Simon looked worried about something. " what's the matter Sy?" Alvin asked. ' What did you say Alvin? I wasn't paying attention." ' I said, what's wrong?" " Yeah, you look worried. And, when the smart one is worried, it worries the rest of us.' Theodore said. " I'm just thinking." " Like you ever stop doing that." Alvin said. " Seriously Alvin." Cash said, shaking his head." What have you been thinking about Simon?' Theodore asked. ' Well, How come this mysterious group that seems to have it out for us has been so quiet lately? It's been a while since we've heard of anything from them. I just wish I knew what they were planning.' 'Who knows.?" Alvin asked. " but if they hurt Liz here, it'll have hell to pay." Liz snuggled into her father. ' My dad, the big hero.' She said. ' You know it." He said. " Yeah, we all know that we'll come if the kids are in trouble, but that's not what bothers me. I want to know why they're so quiet?" " Even bad guys have to take Thanksgiving off, Sy." Theodore said. ' I hope your right." Simon said.


	30. Chapter 30

New munks

Xavier

" Patricia, do you have the roast started yet?" Eleanor called to Andy's mom. ' just got it in the oven." " Alright." Today was Thanksgiving. The girls were running like crazy. Not wanting to be called lazy, the guys had driven into town. They were there to pick up any last minute things the girls needed. They had three hours until the relatives would arrive. Cash was in charge of sodas. Simon had to pick up flowers to set out on the table, to make it look nice. Alvin and Theodore were sent to get large buckets of ice cream, to go with ice cream. In short, this was a major production. The guys were using this for more than just errands however. They recalled what they had talked about last night and one time when they were thirteen. They had a benefit concert for Grandma and Grandpa's church. The day before, while they were making preparations for it, they had left the girls alone. When that happened, Ian, Ken, and Jack Franklin had kidnapped the girls. Made them run all over town to get them back. So, being away from the girls made them worried. They knew there a ton of people there that would fight like the devil for them there a t the house, but they also knew that those that hated them had a ton of support and skills. Not even Andy could take them on if the numbers were ridiculously overwhelming. So, they tried to get through this errand as quickly as possible. Remembering what the day was like back then, they looked up in the sky every so often. When the kidnappings had happened, the sky looked ready to vomit rain the whole day. Dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out the sun. But, today, it was clear. Matter of fact, not a single cloud in the sky and the news had said no rain was expected for the next three days. This put their minds at ease. Meanwhile, Eliza and Tom had gotten into another argument. " I'm telling you, that rock looks like a cat." Eliza said. " and I'm telling you that it's a dog. See, it's got rounder 'ears'." tom said. " It's a cat!" " It's a dog!" " Um, do they fight over everything?" Andy asked. ' Even rocks?" " You'll learn. Your still relatively young in this, you'll learn." Xavier said. " They fight constantly. I believe it's their way of showing they love each other. If they aren't fighting or yelling at each other, something is very wrong." " You know them well." " I'm their grandpa, it's my job." " Andy?" " Yeah Dave?" " Could you help me set the table?" ' Sure thing." Xavier, meanwhile, sat and watched the kids. His thoughts went back to his wife, Felecia, taken some twenty years before he met Vinny. His daughter, Maria, was taken two years prior to meeting Vinny. To him, since Vinny looked relatively the same and acted the same, she was Maria reincarnated as a chipmunk. But, no matter how it was in the beginning when he found her after her tree in the forest burned down, he loved her like his own blood daughter now. He loved her sons and Daughter-in-laws. He loved their kids, his great grandchildren he was watching right now. And, they loved him right back. He always felt like a part of this family, never as an outsider looking in. He always felt like this was his family, not something he adopted into. Matter of fact, though he was at odds with him when they first met, Cash was now one of his best friends. When they first met, and it was revealed that Xavier was one of the poachers that separated Kate from her sisters, Cash grew angry and threatened to kill him. But, everything got smoothed over. He felt, well, thankful, to be here and be seeing all this. He wondered what Maria and Felecia would say if they were alive. " Probably something like ' this is nice." he thought.

New munks

Thanksgiving

The boys returned. ' Sup dad?" Tom asked Cash. " Well, the sky, heaven, airplanes." He responded. Tom looked agitated. ' Ask a stupid question, Thomas." Eliza said, walking past him. " Need help with the ice cream dad?" She asked Alvin. " If you'd be so kind." He said. " Dad, you want me to help with the pop?" ' " thanks son. Where's your sister?" ' She and Ben went off exploring." " By themselves?' ' No, Grandpa Xavier and Tony are with them." " Oh, well, alright. She got her phone?" ' I think so."" Alright, take this. I'm going to call them back here.' ' Ok.' " Olivia?" " Yes daddy?" " Could you help uncle Simon set the flowers out? I know you've got an eye for that." " Sure… But, um, where is Uncle Simon?" ' I think he's in the bathroom." " Ok. I'll wait." An hour later, the relatives started arriving. ' Uncle Leo, good to see you." Dave said. ' It's good to see you too. Now, where is that son of yours?' ' Which one? There's four remember?" " I'm looking for Simon." " Why?" " Cause, I got some books that might interest him or that son of his. Speaking of which, where is Tony?" " Helping Jeanette." " Ah, I see. And Sy?" " I think he and Alvin are on the back porch." " Alright." " Dinner's in twenty minutes." " That's plenty of time." Next was Les and Leo. Justine was already there, as he had promised. ' Why weren't you here last night Leo?" ' I was in the back yard. You just didn't notice me." ' Sorry about that." Les and Justine's son, Leo ( short for Leon) was eight, just like most of the new munks. " where's Tom?" Leo asked. ' around the side of the house." " Alright." he left to hang out with his cousin. Tom and Leo were rivals, like Tom and Eliza. However, they were the more friendly sort of rivals. Next, was Adam and Julie. Cash glared at Adam as he walked casually over to Kate. He made a move that looked like he would smack her butt. " Do it and about four people in this room will beat you to death." Cash said, making note of not only himself, but Brittany, Julie, and Katrina herself. " Just joshing you." " You love to do that. One of these days though…" After a while, everyone was present and sitting around the dinner table out back. " Alright Cash, your basically the patriarch here, you lead the prayer." Alvin said. " Alright." Everyone bowed their heads. " Dear lord, we thank you for bring us together today. Bless this food and the hands that prepared it. Go with us and keep us and guide us until we next can meet. We ask in thy name, amen." ' Amen.' everyone said. " Now, let's eat." Alvin said. After ten minutes, everybody was on their second plate. " God, this is good, Britt. What's in it?' Cousin Charlie asked. " How do you know it's mine?" " Alvin made note to me of everything you made." " Did he now? Some sort of warning Alvin?" ' No. I just wanted him to taste it. You know Charlie's a professional food critic.' " And it's good?" Brittany asked. ' yes. But, there's flavor I can't place. What is it?" ' my name sake, Coriander. Black Coriander to be precise." " Well, I'll have to get my hands on some." " What is this in this dish, Eleanor?' Cousin Carl asked. ' Gale, Like my middle name." " ah, well, it's good and so is this." " Thank you.' Simon wasn't talking. " What's the matter?" Cash asked. ' Still worried about that group?" Alvin asked. ' yeah. " Simon Trevor Seville, this is not the time to be worrying. It's Thanksgiving after all. Be Thankful you have all these relatives around. You know, people who love you?" Cash asked. ' Your right. And I know, if we need help with them, we can rely on the family, right guys?" Simon asked the table. " Exactly. You mess with one of us, You mess with all of us.' Cousin Kirk said.

New Munks

Almost ready

Meanwhile, as it turned out, Theodore had been right about the villains taking thanksgiving off. They were still Human after all and pretty much all humans in the united States took thanksgiving off. So, they weren't exactly having a family like thanksgiving dinner, but, seeing as everyone in the group were the only 'friends' everybody had, they decided to have the dinner together. Everyone sat around the hidden base. " So doctor, how far along are you in your plan?" The male leader asked. They still didn't show their faces. They wore masks when not hidden in the darkness. They had lifted these up just a bit to eat. " I need only need one more subject to put my plan into action." ' What is your plan exactly?" The female leader asked. " I'm using my formula's to mutate several cretins into animal men and have them attack the munks, softening them. One last one, the one I need, I shall inject a muscle enhancer into and make him a hulking crusher, as I had planned to do to Cash years ago. I will put a mental need into him. Should he seem to be losing, he shall inject himself with a booster shot. And, If all else fails, I shall engage them myself." " Do you need any men?" ' I want to lure the men, the strongest fighters, to a particular location. I'll use the cat-man and bird man I have already to attack them there. So, I'll have some of the men kidnap one of the children. Perhaps the young black haired one." " Cash and Katrina's daughter?" " Yes." " And then what?" " Hopefully, I'll lure Cash and his brothers out. I'll then use several men to soften them and then sic the cat-man and bird-man on them. If they fail, then I will have several more men attack the kids when given the opportunity. I'll send the snake man, the most powerful before the crusher. If I have the crusher by then, I'll send him in, assuming the snake man loses." " and, as you said, if all else fails, you'll handle it yourself?' " yes." "very well." " So, is Harry still refusing to join?" Claus asked. ' Quiet Claus." Claudia said. ' Now, Claudia, we all agreed to be civilized while we had this dinner. Let your brother talk." the female leader said. ' tch, yes ma'am." " Well?" Claus continued. " Yes. He has firmly stated he is a changed man and has no interest at all in joining us." The female lead said. ' I heard he's got kids and a wife now.' Ian added. ' he does. But, they will all be targets from now on as well.' The male lead said. " Why?" Claudia asked. ' he and his wife have begun working for the chipmunks label company." " That good for nothing traitor.." Ian said. ' yes. And, he shall pay for his betrayal. Now, shall we continue the meal?' The male lead asked. ( Now we get quirky) Trying to make small talk, Claus asked ' so, how's everybody's favorite sports teams doing?" Claudia shook her head. " I can not believe you are such a dim wit.' She said. ' I'm just trying to make conversation Claudia. Go pet your idiot dog." " Sophie (II) is not an idiot dog. She is much smarter than you. At least she knows when to be quiet." Claus shut up, defeated. " Um, the Dallas cowboys, are doing pretty good." Ian said. " Don't encourage him!" Claudia shouted. " the man asked a question. I'm answering it. don't yell at me, you dumb loud mouth!" ' If you weren't busted up already..." " yeah, and how healed are those cuts of yours? I know you got a blood phobia. How tough would you be if I opened them again?" While Claus, Claudia and Ian bickered, Dr. Frankenstein just concentrated on his food. Meanwhile, the male lead turned to the female lead. " Well, the civilized part of the meal is thoroughly dead and buried." he said. She just shook her head.


	31. Chapter 31

New munks

A grill

Three days ago, the munks returned home. Now, Cash had decided to go see an old buddy of his. His name was Stewart Sawyer, although his friends called him Stew. Cash walked into the living room, where Tom was watching TV. " Hey pop." Tom said. " hey son. You got anything to do today?" No. I got school in two days, so guess I should get ready, but I got tomorrow. What's up?" " Wanna go see Stew?" " Stew. As in hardware store Stew?" " yup." ' Sure." " Alright. Kate, Nell, we'll be back in a bit." " Okay honey." " bye daddy." Cash and Tom loaded into Cash's car. " Hey dad? How come we're taking the car?" " We're going to see Stew about getting a grill. I figure, why should Theodore and Dave be the only ones, right?" " I guess so." ' besides, we all like grilled food. But, you can't really do it with out a grill." " True. Alright, let's go." Cash drove for ten minutes, headed for the hardware store that stew worked at. Stew always got him the best deals on hardware. Tom looked to his father. ' Hey dad?" ' Yeah?" " I know I've probably asked this before, but, how did you meet Stew? How far back do you go?" " Seven years." " How'd you meet?" " it was back when Nell was born. The exact day, matter of fact. His daughter had been born that day as well. While your mom was resting, and you were with Uncle Alvin, I went down to the nursery, where they keep new born babies. There was Nell, in one of the little beds they put them in. She looked like a little angel. Anyways, he was down there. He was worried, it was his first. I asked him ' new dad?' And he said ' how could you tell?' I said ' I had the same look on my face a year ago.' ' So, which one is yours?' he asked. I said ' look for the only one that looks like me. Give you a hint, little bit of black hair on her head.' ' she's very cute.' he said. ' thanks. Which one is yours?' ' She's right there, diagonally to the upper right of your daughter.' ' she's very cute too.' is aid. And then, our whole relationship spun out from there." " Oh, cool." Tom thought some more. He had many questions he wanted to ask his father. But, as they always had things to do, or adventures to have, or bad guys to beat up, he never really got the chance to ask. ' Hey dad?" " yes?" " What would you say is the scariest moment you've ever had?" " other than when you or Nell were born?" ' Why was that scary?' " Cause, first, I had heard that a woman is no closer to death than when she's giving birth. So, that's one worry. Next, there are a number of things that could happen to a baby during birth. Not to scare you, but, some babies are born with heir umbilical cords, the big cords the doctors cut and it's makes the belly button from where it was? You know what I'm talking about?" " Yeah. I've had some biology." " Right. Well, there are cases where a baby is born with the cord wrapped around their neck, choking them. And, that's just one thing that could happen." " Wow." " So, other than that?" ' yeah.' " I'd say when we went after Damien the Vampire in order to save Brittany. I was concentrating on the fight, but, inside, I was worrying about whether we'd make it or not. I knew if we didn't win before dawn, Brittany would survive. The sun would destroy her. So, that had to be my scariest." ' wow." Finally they arrived. Stew worked in the very department they kept the grills. " Cash?" " Stew!" " Man, it's good to see you. It's been what? Two months since you've been in here?" " yeah." " And, is that Tom?" ' hey Stew." " oh my god, you've gotten so big. I still remember when you were just yay big." " Yeah, I know. I had a big growth spurt." " I can see. So, what do you need?"

New munks

Closed again

Katrina was busy at the house. Being full time wife and mom, while being a rock star was hard work. They had a tour in Europe coming. This time, they would be bringing the kids. Rex had stated to his father, Harry, that he was glad to hear that they would be gone for a while. " Do they really hate each other? Or are they still mad at the kids cause they beat them?" Kate thought. Helen was doing homework on the computer. She suddenly called for her mother. ' What is it honey?' " I got this mail." " Dear parents, we regret to inform you that your child's school was in such disrepair that it must under go complete reconstruction. The earliest projected reopening time will be some time after the new year. We shall contact you with more information and the official reopening date later. Thank you for your patience." The email read. " You have to be kidding me. Nell, where's your phone?" " Right here." Helen handed her mother the phone. " I'm going to call Larry. He's the principal. If any one can tell me this officially, it's him." he called Larry. " Talbot residence." Jessica, now completely adopted, answered. " Hey Jess. It' Katrina.' " Hello Mrs. Seville." " Now, Jess, you can call me Kate." " Alright., Kate." " So, where's your father?" " You got the email eh?" ' Yep." " here." " hello?" ' Larry, it's Kate. We got that email. Is it true that the school is being closed again?" ' Yup. We all weren't sure they would really do it. They tried fixing it without tearing it down, but, you know how bad it's gotten. I'm kind of glad it's being torn down and rebuilt." " it's worse than when we were in high school?" " Kate, it's actually being torn down. Now, old Charlotte Memorial may have been bad, and came close to being torn down, but they managed to repair it. This one is actually going to be torn down and rebuilt." " Well, I wanted to hear it from you. I didn't know if it was a really good prank or what." ' no. It's not, I assure you. I'm just sorry you got the email just a few days before school started." " It's alright. So long as we got it back. Will the teachers still send them home work through the email?' " Yes. It'll be simple stuff, but it should keep them up to speed until they return." " Alright. I'll see if the gang, Frankie and Jason and Heather got the mail. Sorry to bother you at home with work stuff." " Not a bother at all. I'm always glad to hear from you. Say, maybe we could get everyone together and, I don't know, go to the amusement park Frankie and Elsa work at?" " Sounds good. But, I still feel sorry…" " Kate, you're a concerned parent. It's natural. It's not a bother. I would do the same for Jessica." " Alright, when do you want to do this thing at the park?" " Oh, how about a week from now?" Sounds good." " Okay, bye.' " Bye." Katrina went to work telling everybody the plan and that the email was for real. Meanwhile, Cash had bought a good looking grill at a great price. " Dad? Do I really have to go back to school in a few days?" " Yeah, you do." " But, I…" " I know you hate school, but it's got to be done. And no, I don't think Uncle Simon could home school all of you." " Drat!' Tom said, snapping his fingers. " Hey, I know you hate it, but if you try to have some fun with it, you'll find it easier to bear. Join some clubs if you c an and hang out with Vick and Jessica and Cash of course." ' Yeah, your right. That would make it easier. But, hey, wouldn't it be funny if, when we got home, mom had gotten mail o something saying the school was going to be closed longer? I wish it would happen." When they got home, Kate told them. " okay, son, I want you to wish for huge ham pizza right now." " Why?" " Just do it!"


	32. Chapter 32

New Munks

Robbery

That evening, Cash received a call. " Hello?" "Cash, It's jay." "What's up, bro?" " Could you come get me and Cam?" ' Sure, but, what happened?" ' We came in Cam's car, but, wouldn't you know it, some jackass stole it while we were in the store." " It's eight o'clock at night man. What in the world are you doing going to the store this late?" " Heather got a craving. Cam and Meagan were visiting. Did you know Meg's pregnant too?" "Pppfffttt, no. Nobody tells me anything around here." Cash said, looking directly at kate. "Sorry. I was gonna tell you, but it slipped my mind. I have a lot of stuff to do around the house. Being a mom ain't easy. You can't expect me to remember everything." " Alright, Dear. I understand. No harm done. Anyways, you were saying Jay?" " Right. Heather and Meg get one of those sudden cravings that pregnant women get and they had to have us go out and get some cookie dough ice cream." "Ooo, cookie dough, eh? Good stuff." " yeah. Well, you think you could come get us?" " Sure, no problem. Where are you?" " Well, I wish I could tell you that we're at the one lose to my house, but we're not. They were out of the ice cream. So, we're at the one Near the park." " man, that's a ways from your house." " yeah, and I don't really feel like walking back while it's dark out. So, you mind?" " Not at all. Just sit tight. I'll be there soon." " Thanks man.' ' hey, what's a friend for?" Cash grabbed his keys and headed out. He didn't understand why, but something didn't seem right about this. Something felt like it was coming, but he couldn't pin it. After ten minutes of driving, which would have been a about a half our walk in the dark for the guys, Cash arrived. Acting coy, he rolled up and rolled down the window on the passenger's side and said ' need a lift?" The guys loaded in. ' Thanks for this Cash." " No prob Cam. I can't tell you the number of times I had to run out and get stuff late at night for Kate when she was pregnant with Tom and later Nell. I know how it is. But, m car never got stolen. Then again, I never had to go this far from my house." " Mind if I turn on the radio? Calm my nerves?" Cam asked. ' knock yourself out." Cam turned it on. Funny thing, the station was just starting to play an old chipmunks classic. It was a fan favorite, still requested at concerts, ' get you goin'. " how bout that?" Jason asked. ' Funny to hear how you used to sound?" He asked Cash. ' Just a little. I can't believe people still love this song so much. ' " hey, it's a really good song. It's a classic. And those last." Cam just kept sighing. ' What's the matter cam?" Cash asked. ' This is the first time he's had his car stolen." " Wow, seriously?" " yup." ' You had your car stolen?" " once. I never did get it back, so I had to buy another." Cam sighed heavier. " we're not helping are we cam?" Cash asked. " Please cash, just drive." " you're the boss." When nearing Jason's house, Cash noted something. " Hey, isn't that your car, Cam?" " I'll be dipped, it is." " What's it doing here?" A man came running out of the store and jumped into the car. He had large bag. ' Judging by hw the people in that store a chasing after him, I'd say it's a get away car." " Stop him!" Cam cried. Cash headed off the man. Afterwards, the man attempted to fight back, but, Cash's speed and Jason's strength were more than enough for him. The on duty officer from the store came. " Hey, officer? That's my car. He stole it earlier while we were in the store. Do I have leave it or can I take it home?" ' Well, we'll have to process it. Examine, just in case he's got anything in there. But, after that, you'll get it back. Should take a day." Okay."

New munks

Man turned monster

Thinking the business was over, cash took the guys home. But, that uneasy feeling wouldn't leave him. Something was bothering him. But, seeing as he may be needed at home, he wrote it off and headed that way. Meanwhile, the on duty officer was holding the man in his car, while waiting for reinforcements to come pick him up, so he could return to his guard duty at the store. That's when a strange man approached him. ' can I help you sir?" " Yes, you can get out of my way.' " Um, what are you doing sir?' Taking this man off your hands." ' Sorry sir, but unless you're the back I called for, this guy isn't going anywhere. And, you don't look like a cop." " Precisely. I'm not. I'm a scientist." The strange man snapped his fingers and two other beings jumped out from the nearby bushes. " What are you things?" One looked like a humanoid cat and the other a bird. " Lovely aren't they? It looks like they have fully accepted my genetic manipulations.' ' Wait, genetic manipulations? Like, sci-fi style? Then… What did these things used to be." " Two drug addict brothers I picked off the street." " wait, these guys are human? Or, used to be?!" " That's enough. Boys!' The creatures hit the cop in the back of the head. The man in the car was terrified. This weird looking man, with a huge nose, and his two monster assistants were coming after him. " oh god! I know I haven't been the best man, but, please, save me from these things!' He prayed. That's when the cat-man ripped the door off it's hinges. ' Oh Jesus!" The man cried. " Not even close." The strange man said. ' who the hell are you?" " My name is Doctor Victor Frankenstein. These are my.. 'pets'." " Frankenstein? For real?" " Oh yes, very real. Now, you'll be coming with me." ' Like hell!" The man bolted from the car and ran as hard as he could. " I knew that if I watched the chipmunks long enough, they'd eventually lead me to the correct person for my crusher. My, look how fast he can run. Yes, natural speed and with my enhancements.. Ah yes. Thank you Cash Seville. You've lead me to the perfect instrument of your destruction." Doctor Frankenstein cackled. " Well, don't just stand there. Go get him.' The doctor commanded his beasts. The bird man took off and quickly closed in on the man. He picked him up and brought him back. The 'good' doctor pulled out a needle and injected the man. It was a strong sedative. ' Bring him. We're going back to the lab.' An hour later the man awoke on a table. It' looked like an operating table. He was restrained, tightly. So tightly, it hurt his wrists somewhat. " Tell me, young man. What is your name?" " Eli. Eli Hunt." " Eli eh? Nice name." Eli figured ' if I could butter this freak up some, maybe I could talk him into letting me go.' ' and, uh, Victor's a nice name too. Very strong, commanding, you know." " I know what your up to, Eli. It won't work. You'd be trying for hours before you had any success. And you don't have that long." ' What the hell are you going to do to me? Kill me and harvest my body parts?!"" No, I tried that monster making road once. It only ended in disappointment. This is a more efficient method. Now, then, listen to this recording while I work." All Eli could hear was the recording of Doctor Frankenstein talking. His would have subliminal messages in it, making Eli addicted to what the doctor was about to do. The doctor shot him up with about two pints of his ungodly formula. After ten minutes though, something could be heard over the recording. Eli's own screaming as his body warped and changed into what The 'good' doctor wanted.

New munks

Soccer

Oblivious to what the monstrous doctor was up to, the munks were going about their lives. Today was an important match for the kids. If they could win this one, they'd have a sure seat in the fall tournament for their soccer league. " Drive it over to me!' Eliza called. But, noticing that the team had heard her, Tom, who had the ball, faked them out and kicked it to Tony instead. Once Tony saw an opening, he kicked to Eliza once she was open. She made a move for the goal. She took her shot, but the goalie deflected it. Fortunately, it rolled back out into the field, putting it out of the goalie's legal territory. Matter of fact, it was one inch further back, the eight year old boy could have went and picked it up. But, that was beyond his power right now. Eliza, Tom, Cash, and Tony kept the rest of the team busy, while Olivia made a mad dash for the ball and drove it into the goal. " Just like her mom." Cash said, looking up to Theodore and Eleanor. Alvin and Xavier, Being the coaches, were busy at the moment. Everybody else was in the stands, rooting their kids on. " That's it1 Team chipmunk wins!" The announcer shouted. Cash Diggs didn't mind that being the team name. Most of the team's players were chipmunks after all. Besides, all the names they had come up with sounded stupid. So, team Chipmunk was the only one that didn't sound dumb. As the players came into a group hug, with Olivia in the middle of course, the parents rushed onto the field. ' Great work Cash.' Jason said to his son. " Did you see how I blocked those shots, dad? Man, I only let three get passed me. I wish this could have been a landslide though.' " You did your best. I don't think Al or x will complain." " Yeah." By this point, Olivia had been hoisted into the air by her cousins. They carried her off the field and straight over to her parents. " That was great Honey." Eleanor said to her daughter. " well, I do take after the best." " Me!' Alvin shouted. " Whatever you say, uncle Alvin.' Olivia said, winking to her mom. " nah. I'm just grateful Olivia does take after you, Ely. She's just incredible. All of them are." " Was I good dad?' ' Of course honey." Eliza grinned at her compliment. ' I wish my shot had sunk in though, and then we could have had Olivia sink hers. Then it would have been a total wash out. A more crushing victory." She said. " I think winning eight to six is a pretty good win." Alvin said to his daughter. ' But, when you played as a kid dad, didn't you want the biggest score you could get?" ' Well…" Alvin trailed off, while scratching his nose. " So, who wants pizza?" He said. ' hey, don't avoid my question daddy." " Did you say something, Lizzy-bear?" " Never mind." They went off to get that. ' You coming Jay?" " Course. Cash would nag my head off if I didn't." " Which one?" Alvin asked. ' Both. Your brother AND my son.' the friends laughed as they went off. While eating pizza, Jason asked them would he be needed for the tour. ' It's just that, with Heather up on maternity leave, I don't want to leave her alone for that long." " I could go with you.' " Are sure that's a good idea for the baby?' " I flew to New York to visit my cousin, while I was pregnant with Cash." ' but this isn't coast to coast, dear. This is intercontinental." ' I'm sure I'll be fine." " You could always stay at my place. I'm sure Geneva and James, and Patricia could handle you." " Actually, mum said she wants to go. Visit some relatives while we're in London." ' See. I'll come too. And you know Cash here will want to come. ' Of course. How could we travel with out our roadie?" Alvin said. " Well, then, I'll Give them time off until we get back." Xavier said.


	33. Chapter 33

New munks

meeting

Today, Alvin was reading the paper while Eliza ate breakfast. Yesterday, Cash had told him what had happened the previous night. Alvin glanced over an article. " Missing, Eli Hunt. Last seen, in custody of police officer Peter Malone. Hunt was apprehended by Officer Malone, after a struggle with local rock star Cash Seville, of the chipmunks, and friends. When asked what happened to Hunt, Officer Malone was reported to have told fellow officers that he was ambushed by three strange individuals. Malone described them as follows: One man, relatively short, wearing all black and having a large nose and scraggly grey hair. Another ( Assumed to be a man in a costume) was a cat and human hybrid. The last ( also assumed to be a man in a costume) was a bird and man hybrid. Other than this delusional description, Officers have nothing else to from an investigation. Hunt's whereabouts are currently unknown.' " I wonder if Cash has read this?" Alvin thought. He thought about the description of the first man. " Short, Scraggly grey hair and a large nose? It couldn't be, could it? Frankenstein?… I'd better talk to Cash and see what he thinks, before we get anybody else involved." Alvin thought. " Hey, Liz, tell your mom I'm going to go over and visit with Cash." " Why?' ' Cause I told you to." " No, I mean why are you going over there?" " I can visit my BROTHER if I want, can't I?" " Alright, daddy. I'll tell her." " Thanks sweet heart." And then Alvin left. Meanwhile, Cash was taking a mid-morning nap. He didn't have much else to do today, so he thought ' why not?' Helen had finished all her homework assignments for the week and had even helped Tom do the same, all last night. Tom complained that so long as there was no school, literally, that they shouldn't have homework. But, so long as Helen was there, he didn't actually care. Knock Knock. " I got it." Cash said. " Oh, hey, Al. What's up?" " can I come in?" " Yeah, sure. Come on in." The brothers sat down at the dinner table. " Coffee?" " No thanks, I had breakfast already." " Ok." " Hey, have you read the paper yet?" " About the guy we caught the other night?" ' Yeah." " Yeah I did." " What do you think?" " Hmm, scraggly hair, big nose, short. Now, who do we know that fits that description?" " Only one guy." " Doctor Frankenstein." They said together. ' So, what should we do?" " Well, it fits his motifs. Capturing people and turning them into monsters. Hmm, I think we ought to get Simon and Theodore over here and have us a strategy meeting." " I was thinking the same thing. I just thought it best to talk to you first.. I'll call them." a minute later. " Hello?' " hey sy." " Oh, hello Alvin." ' Are you in the middle of something?" " Nothing I can't just pick up again later. What's up?' " did you read the paper this morning?" " yeah. It sounds like you know who. Matter of fact, I hid it from Jeanette, so that she wouldn't be reminded of what Frankenstein wanted to do her." " Yeah, well, think you could come to Cash's house?" " Having a meeting?" " Just the four of us for now. Until we figure out what's going on, we don't any more involved in this than we have to." " Then why ask me and Theodore?" " Simon, if we thought we could handle this on our own, we would. Hell, if I thought I could do this myself, I wouldn't even involve Cash. But, I know two things. If I did this on my own, all of you would kill me if I got hurt and then you found out. And, plus, we know we can't do this with you. It's always been all for one.." " and one for all. I know. I'll get Theo and be over shortly." " great. See you then.'

New munks

Drastic times

" So, what should we do?' Theodore asked. " Well, we know that this definitely seems to be Frankenstein. We can't risk the safety of our family just to help us.' Simon said. ' Yeah, but, the girls can be worse than any monster Frankenstein's got if we don't tell at least tell them." Alvin said. " Especially Britt. I love her to death, but she can pretty nasty. Oh lord, I can hear her right now. " What?! Your going to hunt for Frankenstein?! What about me and Eliza? What should we do if something should happen to you!? Don't we matter to you?' On second thought, let not tell them." " But, we have to Al. They deserve that much. They are our ever loving wives after all." Theodore said. ' I hate it when your right." " Cash? What do you think?" Simon asked. " 'sigh' To be honest, I think we may just have to call the family in on this one.' ' What!?" The other three cried. " as much as we don't want to, look what's stacked against us. Not only Frankenstein, but monsters. And these sound more refined than those big spiders or that cyborg bear Simon faced the last time. Not to mention, we only know of these two. Who knows how many he's got? I'd stake my sword though, that good old Eli has already been changed into something. Let's face it, with odds like that against us, it's going to take more than it ever has before. More than just the four of us. I don't want to involve them, believe me. But, these are drastic times and drastic measures are called for." " Damn… Can't you be wrong once?" Alvin said. " I'm sorry Al. If there was a way to do this without involving them, we'd take it. But, that's just not meant to be. But, let's protect everyone we can So, what we're going to do is, we're having a 'war council'. We'll invite everybody. Larry and Raya, Frankie and Elsa, Jesse, Cam and Jason, even Harry and of course Xavier and Andy. We'll tell them the situation and leave it to them to decide whether they want in or not. Agreed?" They nodded. Later, they had everyone gathered. " Alright. Here goes. I want you to know that if we could do this without you, we would. Not that we don't value your help, it's just that this is very dangerous." " Get on with it, Cash.' Jesse said. " Well, the other night, Cam, Jay and I stopped a man, who we later found out was named Eli Hunt, from robbing a store and stealing Cam's car. Now, Eli went missing shortly after we left. The description of the man who took him, by the officer in charge of him at the time, sounds a lot like our old 'friend', Doctor Frankenstein." " Father is back?" Frankie asked. " yes. And, now it seems he's kidnapping people once more for some sick experiments. Now, the media and the public at large may write the officer off as a loon, but we know better.' Simon said. They nodded that it didn't really surprise them." Well? What do you plan to do?" Xavier asked. " We know Frankenstein hates us. And, if he's got monsters on his side, if we tried this with Just Al, Theo, Cash and Myself, we'd might not make it. That's the only reason we'd ask you to stick your necks out like this." " Get on with it" Jason demanded. ' Short version, we believe Frankenstein has monsters, is making more out of people he kidnaps, and will possibly come a hunting after thinks he's got enough to take us. We also believe that he may have support from this mysterious group. We figure, since they help out all our other old enemies, why not him? So, then we have the groups men to worry about. So, we're asking for your help. You want in, stay. Want to back out, now's the time to leave." Cash said. Nobody moved. " Your sure?' They nodded. " alright then. It's Time for the hunted to hunt the hunter."


	34. Chapter 34

New munks

Gone hunting

" Yeah? Okay, thanks Theo. Yeah, keep me posted." Cash spoke into his phone. Tonight everybody was out patrolling the city. The four chipmunk brothers had split the city into north, south, east and west. Each was patrolling an area, with their wife riding shotgun. Al and Britt in the north, Cash and Kate in the south, Sy and Jean in the west side and Theo and Ely taking the east side. Harry, Charlene, Xavier, Frankie and Elsa had left for the theme park, in case he had set up shop once again in the old Frankenstein attraction. The kids were staying at Xavier's, with Andy, Patricia and vinny. Raya, Dave, Ms. Miller, Cam and Jason were acting as guards at all possible entry points to their neighborhood. All precautions they could take were made. " Damn, where is he?" Cash said. " Hon, maybe we ought to call it in for tonight. People still have to work in the morning." " But…" " I know how you feel. I want him stopped to, but, look at yourself. Your eyes are bloodshot already, your head s nodding like your about to fall asleep, and your yawning every two minutes. Your tough honey, but even you have to have your limit. As Alvin would say, ' Even supermunk has to rest.'" " I don't know." " Please, babe, for me?" " I just don't…" ' Please, we can pick up tomorrow night. " " Why are you so worried?" " I'm your wife remember? That's my job!" " No Need to raise your voice!" ' You're the one yelling!" Cash sat silent for a moment. In the nine years he had been married to Kate, they had never argued like this. " Damn Frankenstein. Got us going against each other. You know I'd never yell or argue with you like that other wise." " And I love you too. So, I'm sorry too. We got to stick together right?" " Exactly. And… your right. I can't keep awake much longer. 'yawn!' alright." He stopped and got out. " You drive." " okay dear.' As he got into the passenger's seat, she kissed his cheek. " Promise me something." " What's that?' ' That we'll never argue or yell at each other like that ever again.' " You got it." " Alright, you sleep a little on the ride back. I'll wake you when we get there." " 'yawn' alright. And remember, I love you. It's just this Frankenstein thing is getting to me. I know what he can do and what he's threatened to do before. I'm determined to make sure that never ever happens." " I understand cash. Now, listen to your wife and go to sleep. Supermunk needs his rest and needs to let Lois lane handle it from here." " Okay. Love you." " I love you too." with that, he was out. " Guess I better reign everybody in." She pushed the hands free call button on the car. " Hey, Harry." " hello Katrina. we've searched this place top to bottom and not a trace. No lie." " I know your not lying Harry. I knew you'd honestly changed when you volunteered to help with this. Tell Frankie and Elsa head on home." " Will do." Next, Eleanor picked up. " Hey Sis." " We got nothing. You and Cash found anything?" " No. And, we've had it for tonight. Cash is beat." " what is driving him so hard?' ' He remembers what the last time and swears he'll never let it happen." " Alright, we'll head in and get Libby and Benjy home." " Right, night sis. Love you." " Love you too." She called Jeanette and finally Brittany. " You win the argument?" Brittany asked. " Well, he is sleeping right now, so I guess. But, I'm doing that again. I love him to much." " Yeah. Same with Al and Me. We used to live to fight with each other and now, it's " perish the thought'. Well, I guess we'll head home. Night, love you.' " Love you too. Alright, my heroic and darling husband, let's get you home. But first, a quick stop at Xavier's to pick up Tom and Nell."

New munks

Nightmare

" Well well. Looky here. Seven chipmunk parents, All lined up and ready for experimentation." " No! Stop you freak!" Cash called out. " Now, that's not very nice. Oh, how do you like your mother's change? I think the horns really bring out her eyes." ' oh god! Mom!" " Now then. Into the lab we go!' " No!" " Cash, stop him!" Alvin yelled. " Save us!" Brittany yelled. " I .. I can't. Damn it. Let me out of these restraints, Frankenstein!' " Don't you love us?" Eleanor asked. ' Just sit tight Ely! I'll think of something!" " To late!" Frankenstein pulled a lever and the seven other parents were gone. A moment later, they emerged as hideous freaks, mere shells of their former selves. But, they began to shake. One by one, they fell over, dead. " Oh, poor things. Seems not everybody can take the transformation." Cash then heard sobbing. " Why didn't you stop them!?" he heard Eliza yell as she cradled her mutated and deceased parents. " Theyre dead because of you! It's all your fault!" Olivia yelled. " But I.. I couldn't do anything. I was tied up." " You couldn't turn into your monster and rip them apart?" " The thought didn't cross my mind. I swear." " All your swearing means nothing! Our parents are dead because of you, Uncle Cash. I'm ashamed I'm related to scum like you!" Tony said. " No, Tony, that's an insult to scum. He's lower than that. To let his own brothers and sisters die. To let his own wife die. He's lower than scum." Eliza said. Cash looked around, there were no comforting faces. He saw Tom and Nell cradling what used to be Katrina. " Tom? Nell?" " Don't Tom and Nell us! We don't want anything to do with you!" Nell yelled. ' But I…" " and to think, I wanted to be just like you. What the hell was I thinking?" Tom asked. " Get out of here and don't ever come back!" Cash began to run, as fast as he could. He could hear the kids stinging words. He could hear Alvin and the others. " You swore you'd protect us!" " You said you'd never let this happen!" " Agito must be spinning in his Grave!" Then, Agito did appear. He looked at Cash and shook his head. " Maybe I should have let you die on that river bank." " No, Sensei! I couldn't.." Agito faded away. Then all was empty again. He heard only one voice, kates." I thought you loved me." " I do!"" Then why didn't you stop this!?" " I couldn't! I tried! Oh God, help me!" " God doesn't help men who let their wives and families die like that! I wish I'd never met you!" " No! Kate Come back! Kate! Kate!" " Kate come back!" Cash screamed as his terror vaulted him into the real world. " cash?" " Oh Thank god. Your still here." " I never left. Dear god, your wringing wet with sweat. What happened?" " Mom? Is dad ok? We heard him scream." Toms said as he and Nell entered the room. Cash sprang from the bed and hugged his children. " tom, you still want to be like me?" " Of course!" " and Nell, you still love me right? You don't want to have nothing to do with me, right?" ' I love you daddy. I want to do everything with you." " Cash? What's wrong baby?" ' Well…" cash said. He told them the dream. " it was just a nightmare. that'll never happen. And besides, I would never, ever say that I wish I never met you. That was one of the best days of my life. I'd never want that taken away." Katrina said. " Yeah, it was a dream dad." Toms aid. " alright, off to bed, you two." " I'll stay up a while.? " Okay baby. And remember, I love you, heart, mind, body and soul. I'm you as much as you are me, right?" ' Yeah. Night." He said, kissing her deeply and then going down stairs to fiddle with Tom's sword, which was nearing completion.


	35. Chapter 35

New munks

Solo mission

" So, is he asleep now?" " Yeah, Al. I finally got him to go take a nap." " Well, that's good. Man, I knew the thought of losing us scared him, I just didn't know it was that bad." " Well, it was just a dream." " Yeah, but it could be a.." " Don't you dare say it, Al. Cash would never let that happen." ' I know Kate, it's just that.. This is the most danger we've been in for a long while. To be honest, I'm worried about Britt and Liz's safety." " Your free to back out if you want, remember?" " yeah, like the 'good' doctor would let me. Besides, I've stood by Cash through tough times before, I'm not backing down now." " And that's why your a hero too." " I guess. Well, I'm going to take Liz to the park, let her run some soccer drills. Hey, I could take Tom if you want." " Hold on, I'll ask him." a moment later. " yeah, if you would." ' It would be my pleasure. I'll call Jay, Sy and Theo and get the rest of the team." " Aren't there seven players to a team?" " Yeah, that's why we only played exhibition matches before. Now, we've added Vick and Jessica. Let me tell you, Jess has got a leg. That girl can kick!" ' well, I know Vick is at Xavier's for the day and Jessica's at Larry's, of course." " Well, alright. Then I can really get the whole team together. I'll see you in a bit Kate." " alright, bye." A minute later. " Ready to go champ?" Alvin asked his nephew. ' Yeah, let's go. Come on Liz!' Tom said, grabbing Liz's hand and yanking his cousin toward the car. " Um, bye aunt Katrina!" Liz yelled as Tom yanked her hard. Katrina waved. ' hey, Kate." " Hmm?" " Make sure that brother of mine sleeps for a good long while. I know he's as hard headed as me. If he wants to wake up, your going to have to fight him long and hard to make him stay asleep. I don't care how you do it. Tie him to the bed with iron shackles and hit him on the head with a frying pan if you have to. Just make sure he sleeps for at least five hours straight. And, there's no mission tonight. IT would only be the same story over again. And, not even Cash with all his bravado could take that much stress on his nerve. Call it a mental health day." Kate nodded. She hugged her brother-in-law and said ' you can count on me, other fearless leader." Alvin smiled and walked away. " Alright twerp and twerpette, let's go get the other twerps." " We're not twerps daddy!' Eliza screamed. After Alvin picked up Tony, Simon called Katrina. All the brother's had been informed early this morning of Cash's dream, thanks to Kate who woke before anybody else and told her sisters. Simon figured that Katrina need to concentrate on her husbands mental and emotional well being, and called to offer to take Helen with him and Jeanette to the library. " Thanks, That would be great." Now, Alvin was at Xavier's, picking up Vick. While Vick got ready, Alvin chatted with Andy and Vinny. " Oh, poor Cash. My poor baby. I should go see him." " Go ahead." Alvin said. While everybody was off doing what hey were doing, Andy and his mother were the only ones at Xavier's. Taking into account how much stress Cash was under, Andy took it upon himself to find where Doctor Frankenstein's hideout on his own. " I know what your thinking." Geneva said. Geneva had developed a soft spot for the man. Not love, but a sisterly thing. " Your going to stop me?" " No. Just please, be careful. No unnecessary risks. And don't take Frankenstein and his forces on, on your own." " Got it." Andy said, while putting the last of his regular clothes on over top of the Prometheus suit. He kissed Geneva's cheek, in a brotherly way, and said " Keep an eye on my mum. I'll be back by morning." " you come back safe and sound." He nodded.

New munks

interrogation

" Now, if I was a mad man with monsters, where would I hide out?' Andy was out patrolling the city. He had been at it for the last two hours. It was currently, five o'clock. " I know one place to check." He thought. He had tangled with several unsavory characters before coming to work with the munks. And, as he discovered, they all had one connection. They all hung out in a shady part of town, in a bar called the Devil's Maw. Now, Hollywood is known for being seedy, but this was were it was truly corrupt. All in murders, con artists, thieves, arsonists. The worst of the worst hung out here. And, if you were a good guy going in here, you had to be one bad dude. A guy not to mess with. Luckily, Andy fit that description. An hour later, stopping only to eat at a McDonald's for dinner, Andy arrived. " Password?" The bouncer asked. " since when does this place have a password?" " Since cops started nosin' round here. You a cop?" " No, body guard." " You got a badge or something givin' you power to arrest people?"' Do you even know what a body guard does?! No. I can't do that. My job is to protect those that are left in my care, any way I can. That's why I'm here." " You lookin' for somebody?"" You could say that." " Well, so long as you ain't a cop, come on in." "No password?" " That's a cover. Now, get your punk, funny soundin' butt in here before I change my mind." ' Yes sir." Andy said sarcastically. " Jackass gonna get himself killed." The bouncer thought. Andy moseyed up to the bar. " What can I do you for?" The bartender asked. " Coke." Andy said. " Cherry, regular, diet, vanilla?" 'Vanilla if you got it.' " Comin' right up." " thanks." " you old enough to drink?" " No, just 18." " What are you doing in here then?" " I'm looking for somebody who has an ear for the action." " Any particular kind of action?" " The kind that involves very scientific men, with a lot of resources on hand." " Why would a nice young fella like you be looking for that kind of action?"' Cause I'm gonna start a fight with a certain scientist turned criminal and I want to know where's he's hiding." " Brandon Kowalski, they guy over there by the very last pool table, he deals with guys like that. Ask him." ' Thanks." " just be careful. You're a good guy, I can tell. Good guys don't fair well in a room full of bad guys, unless your bad. Are you bad?" " We'll see how bad I am if it comes to it." Andy gave the man a buck twenty-five for the drink and went over to Brandon. " Are you Mr. Kowalski?" " Who wants to know?" " I do." " So what?" " I'm looking for a man." " aren't we all?' Brandon said sarcastically. " Any body in mind?" " I'm looking for the scumbag that calls himself Frankenstein." " Frankenstein? Pppfffttt, you should go to the library then. I hear that Shelly chick spins a good yarn." Andy took a pool stick off the table and cracked Kowalski on the hand with it. " Ow!" " I know you know about him, spill it!" Andy cracked him on the head. He fell to the floor. Andy laid into him until he told him. " The docks! He's working on some sick stuff down by the docks!" " Thank you. Enjoy the rest of your evening." As Andy made his way out, Kowalski called out his own goons. " Get that British bastard!" Andy held his hand up. " So you know, I'm a trained British naval commando. I know seven ways to kill each and everyone of you in about five minutes flat. On top of that, I'm wearing a special suit that would let me take anything you can throw at me, even gun fire, and not even feel it. Now, unless you want to die, get. Out. Of. My. Way!" The men, not knowing if he was kidding or not, felt it wise to just do as he said.

New munks

formula

" Alright, guy like Frankenstein shouldn't be to hard to find around here. Man, I feel I'm walking into some apocalyptic future movie when I come down here. They really should clean this place up. Ugh! That Smell. Damn, they need to clean the fish guts up around here." Andy searched around. " I'm going to have to go back and bust Kowalski up more. The bastard lied to me, there's nothing here." But, He then heard something. " Nein! You incompetent fools! That goes over there." " Hmm, does the Transylvanian accent sound like German? Well, close enough I guess. Best check it out." Andy looked. " Now, how was he described again? Scraggly grey hair, check. Big nose, double check. Short, yup. But, no body said he was so bloody brawny. And, he really does have monster servants. Even with the suit, it's best not to tangle with all of them at once. I'll just monitor." He noticed the creatures were unloading small boxes of things. He also noted a lizard man in the bunch. One small box intrigued him. It emitted the sound of clinking glass while the cat man carrying it walked. " I'll bet my right foot that's his test tubes." The cat man tripped and almost lost the box. " Careful! You're a cat, your not supposed to be clumsy! If you spill that, what will our dear friend Eli have to boost himself with?"" Eli?" Andy thought. He noticed Frankenstein gesture to an overly large human being. " Oh my god! That's that Eli Hunt?! Dear god, this man's a devil! What a poor unfortunate soul Eli is. God, it looks like his body is stretched to the limit. He gets much bigger and his skin looks like it'll tear open!" Andy thought. Andy gagged at that image. " Now, let's go and get our dinner. We begin our plans with the chipmunks tomorrow." " Not if I have a say! But, what can I do? I can't do anything against that lizard man, or his cat and bird brothers. Hmmm, but, I can weaken old Eli. That's it." Andy rushed into the lab. He grabbed the box with the crusher formula in it and loaded it into his car. " I'll have Simon study some of this. Three bottles should be enough." He took the other seven bottles and chucked each of the bottles at the ground, far away from Frankenstein's lab so that the doctor and his beasts wouldn't hear the bottles crash. After that, he figured he'd best leave before any of them come back." Andy drove away. He imagined Frankenstein's face when he found his formula was missing. " Those beast boys are going to get an earful. Yup, a good tongue lashing is coming their way." Andy laughed to himself. Andy drove back to the McDonald's to take stock of what had just happened. When his thought's went back to the formula, he reached back and grabbed a bottle. " Hmm, hard telling how much he gave Eli." Luckily, he noticed a note in the box. " Thank the lord on high for Frankenstein being a pack rat. Let's see. ' To achieve full size for 'the crusher' two pints must b taken. Any less will enhance all physical abilities, but hardly alter size.' hmm… What's this say? ' Eli has shown to revert to regular size when calm and relaxed. However, when angry or exerting himself to a sufficient extent, he changes to his full size, much like the American comic book character ' the incredible hulk'." Andy thought about it for a minute. A voice in his head told him to do it. Andy popped the large cork and put the lip of the bottle against his mouth. " This is against my better judgment, but, it's for the sake of the munks. The tougher I am, the better I can protect those darling kids. Alright." He gulped and proceeded to drink and drink, until he had consumed half the bottle. " Well, I wonder what's going to happen now?"


	36. Chapter 36

New munks

Fixing cash

" I can't believe you found him." Simon said. " yeah, great job, Andy." Alvin said. The four brothers, the ones spearheading the operation, had all been called over to Xavier's for Andy's report. Cash sat in silence. " Well leader man?" Alvin asked, sounding like his old thirteen year old self. " Well, good work. But, it was still reckless. What if.." " Cash?" " Yes Alvin?" Alvin smacked him good and hard. " Snap out of it. I've been talking with everybody. We need you to realize, your not the only one bearing the pressure here, okay? Look at yourself. Your exhausted, your having awful nightmares, your snapping at Kate. Kate for God's sakes! What I'm trying to say is, stop bearing the weight of the world on your shoulders. You don't have to do this alone, but that's what you seem to be doing. And, you seem upset and worried if somebody does something before you do. If I was in your shoes, I'd be happy I know somebody that brave, and I am. Relax and give the guy a pat on the back." " Yeah, the worlds too heavy, even for you." Theodore said. " Your strong, but you are no Atlas." Simon said. " Not even you can do this alone. I think Agito would tell you that, god rest him." Alvin said. Cash remembered what Agito had said in the dream. He shook his head. ' no, he thinks I was better off left for dead." Now It was Simon who smacked him. " That. Was. A. Dream! The real Agito loved you as his own, he would never had said things like that." But, Sy, it was your voice that said ' Agito must be spinning in his grave.' in the dream.' " Cash, it was a nightmare. A stress induced illusion. Yes, I can figure it scared the hell out of you, but it was a dream. It can not hurt you, or us. And, how well do we know each other?" " We're brothers. Like the backs of our hands." " Exactly. You know I would never use Agito against you and never ever would I use him that way. The man deserves to much respect for that." Cash nodded. Then it was Theodore's turn. " Cash, look at me." " Yeah?" " You have to remember, though you are Cash the Invincible to the kids, your still mortal. You can still be cut, you can still bleed and sadly, you can still die. And that's a major probability if you do this on your own. Right Sy?" " Right now, if he goes it alone, Cash stands a fifty percent chance of surviving and an equal chance of dying." " Exactly. And, you've come this close to death before. Frankly, as your brother, I don't like those odds. Not when it's Frankenstein." " Theodore's right. You stand a much better chance of winning this if we all go at it together. That's what we're here for cash." Alvin said. " Your…. your right. I've been letting this consume me. God, I even yelled at Kate. Let my mind go nuts with my nightmares. I'm sorry guys. Your absolutely right…. All for one?" " And one for all." they said. " Sometimes I wish I wasn't an only child." Andy thought out loud. " oh right. We almost forgot you were here, Andy." Theodore said. " It's alright." Cash walked over and patted Andy on the back. ' What say we cut the head off this snake?" " Sounds good to me." " Uh, not today. I got to take Liz to some singing contest she's entered herself in." ' Yeah, and I promised Benny I'd take him to the beach today. I'd better be going." " Yeah. I should go home too. I need to talk with Kate. Let her know I'm all better. Then, maybe train tom." ' Oh, Cash?" " yeah sy?" " Jeanette and Tony took Helen with them to do some errands." ' Okay, cool. I'll see you guys." " alright bye." " Your not leaving?" Andy asked. ' My son and wife are out of the house, leaving me alone. What else am I going to do?" " you could examine these." Andy said, pulling out the bottles.

New munks

Bad idea?

" Say, Simon?" " yes Andy?" " Quick hypothetical." " alright." " You read Frankenstein's note, right?' " Yes." " Okay, your smart. So, let me run this by you." " Alright." " Hypothetically speaking, let's say somebody drank a little of this, what would happen?" ' Andy, tell me you didn't." " I did." " why?" " I saw what it did to Eli and read that note and I figured, if I took just a little, I wouldn't be breaking my skin like Eli is, but still reap the rewards." " For power?!" " Not for a selfish reason. It was to protect the kids." " that's what the Prometheus is for." " Simon, with all due respect, you didn't see these guys. Eli's barely even human anymore and those animal men are bigger than you think. And, the lizard man is the biggest of them all, next to Eli. Not to mention, Frankenstein looked brawnier than what you remember." " Brawnier? Dear god, tell me he hasn't been experimenting on himself!" ' who knows? Maybe he works out?" " He's a scientist, like me. We don't work out." " but, don't you run on your treadmill at home for an hour?" " Okay, I'm an exception, but for the stuff I have to keep up with, it's understandable. I doubt nerd code would bring the hammer down on me." Simon laughed a little. " but, in all seriousness, how much of this did you drink?" ' About half a bottle." " Okay, I need a sample of your blood." " Why?" " I'm going to test it and see how this formula reacts with the human body. Maybe, I could make an antidote. Cure Eli, and, if I could get some hair or scales from the beast brothers, maybe cure them too." ' a complete gene cleanser?" " Well, yes. That's a way of looking at it." Then go for it." " alright, your going to feel a bit of pain." " Bring it on." Simon sliced Andy's finger with a small knife that was just laying around. He meticulously made sure it was safe in a tube. " alright, let's get this to my lab at home." Later. " Incredible. It's completely merging with your red blood cells, evenly distributing it through your body." " I'm glad your happy about this." ' Don't worry about it. I'll let you keep it until this is all over and then we'll use the cleanser on you. Okay?' ' Alright. Well, I have a lot of work to do. Here's my cell." ' what for?" " We have to tell the guys. It's only right. " " I guess so." Andy got the same reaction from the three brothers as he thought he would. " You did what!?" " I did it for a good reason." He explained it and the others said, that so long as Simon thought it was a good idea to keep it for now, they'd let him. They swore to tell no one but their wives. The kids, Dave, Rebecca, Xavier, Vinny and all the others needn't know. " And Andy?" " Yes Cash?" Think you could have told us this sooner?" " I didn't want to stress you anymore. I swear, once this is over, I'm taking the cleanser Simon is working on." " Alright then. Just keep it quiet." " Got it." " and, I guess it's good you did. Give us a secret weapons. ( maybe we won't have to go wild to deal with Frankenstein and his goons). " " Did you say something?" " I said it may be good you did. Gives us a secret weapon. But.." " You can't help but think it may be a bad idea?' " Just keep an eye on your self." " Got it." " and.." " Yes." don't go running off and drinking weird stuff on your own anymore. It would devastate everyone if something happened to you." " I understand." " alright, evening Andy." " Evening Cash." Later. " Did I do the right thing? Well, let's hope I was just being paranoid and won't need the power this'll give me."


	37. Chapter 37

New munks

plans

" I'm telling you mum, I had the worst nightmare last night. I haven't had a nightmare that bad since pop died.' " Maybe that's your body, or perhaps the Almighty telling you drinking that concoction of Frankenstein's was a bad idea." Patricia said. Being a man who never lied to his mother when asked if something was wrong, Andy had told her what he had done. She was the only one in the house besides him that knew this little secret. " Well, I figure that the almighty will forgive me." " I suppose so. It was an act of love, not a bid for power. That's just not your style." " Exactly." " Exactly like your father." " Hmm? You say something?" " No, not a thing." the phone rang. ' Hello? Oh, hello Cash. No sweet heart, your not interrupting anything. Andy? Oh, yes, sure. Andy!" Vinny called. " Thank you Vinny. Hello?" " Hey bud." " Oh, morning Cash. You need something?" " Yeah." " Is this about the you know what?" " Thankfully no. Listen. We all have something to do at label, think you could swing by Dave's and take them off his hands for an hour. If those 'wee ones' are anything like us at their age, they must be driving their poor grandpa insane. He's handle four growing boys before, but never had this many before.' " Hey Cash, he did try to have the girls live with us for a while. He's done it before." Andy heard Alvin said. " Yeah, but wasn't he younger then?" " I doubt he's lost his niche." " What's that Todd? Oh, you need Dave and Becky too? Well, now we need the kids looked after." " I'm on it." Andy said. " I'm going to be watching the kids for the next while. Be back later." Andy said to Patricia and Vinny. Later. " So, what are we going to do today?" Tom asked. " I don't know. What do you want to do?" " Sing!" Eliza yelled. "Prove I'm better than her." Tom said. Liz glared hatefully her cousin. " Well, the co-leader dynamic just went out the window." Tony said. " Was it ever in place?" Olivia said. " Maybe we should have nailed it down somehow." Helen said. Ben just shook his head. " Nell, Libby, Tony, Benny? Anything you want to do?" Andy asked. " Cook!" Libby said. " Eat!' Ben said. " Read." Nell said. " Go to the book store." Tony said. Andy stood and thought for a second. " I know! I'll meet you all half way." ' How?" Tony asked. ' There's a bookstore near the arcade isn't there?" " Your right!" Tony said. " You two can go in and buy yourself some new books. Then we can go into the cooking store near by as well. I'm sure Jesse would let you cook and Ben can taste it." " And Tom and Liz?" " That's why we go to the arcade. While blue and white read, and the greens cook, black and pink can compete till their little hearts are content. Sound good?" " sure does!' Tom said. He grabbed Tony and Ben and took off. Liz took off running after him. Libby and Nell shrugged and took off too. " hey, wait for me!' Andy yelled. And even later." This is fascinating. Nell, take a look at this." " Hey, Benjy, smell this. Doesn't it smell good? I have to get this." Meanwhile, Tom and Liz stood, backs turned to each other, on either side of Andy. Once they came back, Tony said ' Well, Nell and I just blew our entire allowances for the week." " The whole fifty dollars they give you? Both of you?" " Yup." ' wow, you really are serious about learning more." Libby came out with a triumphant smile and Ben followed close behind, struggling to carry some of the large bags. " Are sure you don't want to swap, Benjy?" " No Libby. I'm a man ( he tries to puff out his chest a bit) and I got to take care of my sister, like a real man would." " well, then, Merci, monsieur Benjamin." " you four ready?' " Yes, Andy."

New munks

Arcade fun

" Well, hey guys. Good to see you again, Andy." ' Like wise, Jesse." " is Cash alright Tom?" " I think so. He seems to have lightened up a bit." " well, I guess that means he's realized we're all in this together. Good. Now he can sleep better.' Tom and Nell looked at each other uneasily. " He isn't staying up or anything is he?" ' No. he goes to bed with mom the same as always." " Goes to bed with mom? That could mean.. No, don't think like that Jesse. Keep your imagination under control." Jesse thought. ' Jesse?" " Yeah, Libby?' ' Can I cook some stuff in the arcade's kitchen?" " sure, little one. Knock yourself out. So long as me and Kathy get to taste it." " Did you call me daddy?" Kathy then noted Tom. ' Cash!" she shouted and jumped him. " ah, what are you doing Kath?" " Oh, Tom. I'm sorry. I thought you were.. Never mind. How are you all doing?" " Pretty good." " are you scared?" " Of what?' ' well, aren't our dad's going after some bad men?' " yeah." ' aren't you afraid?" " you don't know how tough my dad really is. He could take all these losers himself." " Don't I know it." Kathy mumbled. " You say something?" " I said I'll bet he could, but he won't right?" " Course not Dad always fights along side his brothers." " Do they have any plans in store?" " Well, I don't know how, but, they found out where Frankenstein is hiding out. Hey, Tony? What's your dad working on again?" ' A 'gene cleanser' Tom. It'll be given to the monsters Frankenstein has created and hopefully turn them back to normal." " Right. Well, once Uncle Simon has that ready, it's butt kicking time. Gonna take us down some monsters." " you mean our parents are going to take care of the monsters. We'll most likely be left at Grandpa Dave's or Xavier's to keep us safe." Tony said. " no way, man! I'm not missing this action. The chipmunks vs. Frankenstein and his legion of cursed souls!? No way am I missing that. This'll be better than any pay-per-view." " I don't normally do this, but, I got to agree with Tom." Liz said. " head for the hills!' Libby yelled. " Why?" Kathy asked. " because, if Tom and Liz agree on something, it usually means something is about to happen." " You worry to much, Libby. Even if something would happen, Andy and I would protect you." Jesse said. " But, we don't want you too." Liz said. " Now, I may not have training like him, but I can take a few guys." ' We know that. It's just hat, last time you helped us…." The kids all looked down, except for Kathy who had no clue. " What's wrong?' The five year old asked. " The last time I helped the guys, I got hurt pretty bad." Jesse said. " then, maybe you shouldn't help them." " sorry honey. I know you want me happy and healthy, but, you have to understand. It would eat at my very soul if something were to happen to these guys and I did nothing. Uh huh, no thank you. I don't need that guilt on my conscience." " I understand daddy." " Come on Benjy!" ' Comin' Libby." " Nell, what do you want to read first?' ' I'd like to sink my teeth into Dracula. No pun intended." " I'm gonna whip you good." Liz said to Tom. " Jesse, you got anything new to try?" " um, yeah. A virtual reality pod. You play two battle vehicles, Then you duke it out in a virtual city." " Sounds good to us." ' Andy? You want to play?' " I'll play some skee ball." " alright. Let me get everything ready." later. " Okay, Tom vs. Liz.. Again. In three, two, one! Begin!" " Your mine, Tommy!' Liz half yelled, half laughed. " Eat lead, Lizzy!" Tom said with the same tone. " I knew they loved fighting each other."

New munks

Best laid plans

" Boom, boom, boom." Went the pods Tom and Liz were inside. They were clearly going all out. Hoping to find anything that could assist in defeating Frankenstein (and proving he had his mother's general concern), Tony was reading Mary Shelly's Frankenstein very intently. He knew things in the real world and in the book were different, but anything could help. Anything he thought could be of assistance, he wrote down. Nell was reading Dracula just because she thought it was a good book. Libby had just shoved a spoonful of her latest concoction into her brother's mouth. ' well?" She asked, putting one hand on her apron clad hip. " it could use some salt, and a tiny crack of pepper." " I thought so." " Hey, I know what would go great as a side to this." ' what?" " Mango! Think about sis. Grill some mango, and some pineapple.. Think about it." ' hmm…' Olivia said stroking her chin. " hmm, I believe your right. Alright, let's give it a shot." Andy, Kathy, and Jesse meanwhile, were playing a really long game of skee ball. Jesse had even gone as far as turning the open sign to off. " Hey, Andy?" Jesse asked. " yes?" " I was told your died before you moved to the states. What off?" " Lung cancer." " you too?" " Huh?" " Cash lost his father to lung cancer." " agito? That's what he died of?" " Yep." "' Why hasn't he told me?" " Probably still a really sore spot for him. You can remember the hurt you felt when your dad died?" " Yeah." " Well, Cash was younger than you by a few years when it happened to him.' " I see.' ' From I understand, this guy wasn't just a loved one, he was his teacher and his protector. Cash is who is because of him. He knows what he does because of him." " Cash is cash because of Mr. Ikebana." " Exactly." Kathy paid close attention, since the conversation was on her favorite. Meanwhile, trouble was brewing. It would appear as though Libby was right. Tom and Liz agreeing brings trouble. " Closed eh?" a man said. You two, go wait around back, in case they try to escape out the back.' To large figures did as the man commanded. ' Alright. The ducats these kids brought in alive. Anybody else in here, do what you will." The other goons nodded. The lead then rang the door bell. " Hold that thought, Andy." Jesse said. " Yeah? We're closed. So, what do you need?" " We're here for the for inspection." "Uh huh, nice try bud. I'm not falling for this routine." " then fall for this!' The man tazered Jesse and he fell to the floor. At that particular moment, Tom and Liz were exiting the pods. Quickly taking stock of the situation, Tom yelled. " Kathy, Ben, Nell, hide! Everybody else, it's butt kicking time!' Tom and Liz landed flying kicks to the men's guts and proceeded to uppercut them to knock them down. A few men got into the kitchen. Olivia stood by the door with a frying pan in just perfect position for the men to run into. Two men fell for it. A third saw it and reached through the window like space behind her and grabbed the back of her head. " Let go of my hair!" she yelled, before tossing a pot of fiery hot soup, which she had been making, into his face. " Jerk tried to mess up my hair. Uh huh. Liz would kill me." She then improvised two spatulas for tonfa and took two long squires out with her. " Liz!' she yelled when she tossed the instruments, normally used to pierce meat, to her cousin. ' Now we're talking!" Tom had gotten Jesse's baseball bat, and Tony had an old mop handle. Nell and Ben had scooted Jesse off to the side until he recovered. Andy stood poised to kick a little butt as well. " Here we go again.' Tom said.


	38. Chapter 38

New munks

Specials

' Jesse, you alright?' Nell asked. " Yeah." " Andy? You ready?" Tom asked. ' Against these wimps? Bring it." Tom Jumped up and Andy caught him. Then, he threw him straight at the goons. Tom flipped behind one goon and buzz sawed the bat into the face of the one behind him. Liz, using knowledge she had acquired from her father. Struck several goons in key spots on their legs. " and that's three for me. One for Tom." " She's making this a game!?" Tony thought. " Whoa!' He shouted as one man tried to slice him with knife. Tony struck the man hard in the face with the mop handle. He heard a pop. The man clutched his face. " I broke his nose… cool!" He then proceeded to crack the man's legs and brought him down. Then he spun around with a hard roundhouse to another's stomach. Meanwhile, Olivia seemed to be having the best luck. Going under the guys and using her 'tonfa' like the spatulas they actually were, she got the men off balance until the would fall over and go crashing into something, and knock themselves out in the process. " These guys are slow learners. That's the fifth one I've done that too." Then, the man she had thrown soup into the face of came at her. ' Hey, Soupy! You mind if I call you that?" " Argg!" He slammed the club he had down hard on a rack of prizes behind the main counter, causing every large object on it to topple onto him. " Dang. Man, this is too easy." Tom seemed to be having the most fun. All of them were mocking the guys, but Tom was really in their face. " Hey, Andy?" Andy had just finished choking two guys, at once mind you, into submission. " Yeah Tom? Little busy right now." " Don't worry. They take themselves out. Say, I'm gonna take a nap. Let me know when these idiots have finished beating themselves up for us." " He definitely has his father's abilities, but his uncle's sense of humor. Fighting while mocking, good strategy. Get them so worked up, they can think straight." Jesse thought. Kathy coward against her father. ' Don't worry, Kath. Andy and the guys have it thoroughly in hand. This'll be over soon." The lead goon nodded to another man. " Got it!' HE shouted. He pulled out a pellet and threw it at Tom. He hit Tom right between the eyes. " Ah! What is this junk!?" Tom yelled. " Like that? That's a standard issue we've gotten since the Doctor joined the group. A concentrated mace pellet." " Mace pellet!?" Tom wheezed. " No good. I can't see. Dang it! Why didn't I have dad teach me to use my other senses before now!? " Then an idea dawned on him. " Nell!" " Yes?" " Connect to me!" Helen closed her eyes an opened her mind, and using her powers, connected to Tom. " Be my eyes. Tell which way to move and when to attack. But, tell me in my head." " Got it." " Take this." " Block to your upper left." So, Tom did. ' Attack! Jab him in the gut." And that's what Tom did. " Ben!" Olivia cried. " green finisher!" Ben ran to his sister and jumped high as he could. He landed on his sister's arm, nestled in the crook of her elbow. HE leaped off that and then jumped into some goons, hitting one with a shoulder charge and another with a knee, at the same time. When the one that got hit by his shoulder reeled back and the one that got the knee bent over, Olivia jumped and slammed her spatula into the reeled back's face and onto the back o the bent over's head. " Done and… done." She said once each fell over. " Tony!' Liz yelled. Tony ducked down and stuck his mop straight up. Liz ran up his back, like a ramp, and then vaulted off the mop handle. " Pole vault Paralysis!' She shouted when she stuck the man in a nerve cluster near his neck which paralyzed him.

New munks

New munks vs. beast men

" What the hell?" Jesse couldn't help but say. ' What? You didn't think that we wouldn't have come up with some special moves after we got some training, did you?" Liz asked. " I just didn't think they'd be like those in Anime." ' Hey, when you got the athletic abilities we do, use them." Tony said. Jesse nodded. " dodge left and then uppercut with the bat." Helen thought. Tom complied and finished the last of the goons. " Kathy, get Tom a towel to wash his eyes out with.' Kathy ran and did that. " Thanks Katy… Oh man, that's better. I can see again." " Heh, heh, heh." One goon began to laugh. " Didn't I paralyze you?" Liz asked. She then thought about the training from her father. ' Oh right, were I hit him cripples he legs, not the throat." " Your all going with us, whether we can move or not." " What do you mean?" Andy asked. " We brought…. A little insurance policy." BANG! BANG! " What is that?" Tony asked. ' It's the metal back door to this place. But, it's locked and it's got at least three deadbolt locks on it. Who ever is trying to get in would have to be superhuman to knock it down." Jesse said. " Not whoever, whatever." The goon said. " Huh?" Then their came a loud crash. " The door!" Jesse yelled. Then there came loud footsteps. ( typical monster movie. Monster enters off screen and slowly enters the shot, you know how this works.) ' what in the.." " SCRAWK!" " What the hell makes a noise like that!?" Jesse asked. " it sounded like a really big…. Bird." " Bird!?" The others said. " Oh no. Not that thing!" Andy said. " MEOWR!" " Big cat…" Ben gulped. " cat man too?" Andy asked the goon. " Welcome to hell kiddies. Ha-ha, ha-ha" the goon laughed. The cat's claws pierced through the door and ripped it off. The two beasts lumbered into the room. " Um, heh heh, nice kitty. Good birdie." Olivia said. " SCRAWK!" " MEOWR!" " We're going to die." Tony gulped. "to heck with that! I'm gonna beat dad to the punch!" Tom said before rushing the behemoths and jumped high. " Take this!" he yelled and spun his foot as hard as he could to the side of the cat's head. Though he connected with full force, the cat merely blinked. " Oh, come on!" The cat back handed him. " OWF!" Tom let out when he landed on the floor, as he had been knocked five feet up and ten feet away by the attack. " Tom!' Helen rushed to her brother. " What do we do?" The cat attacked Liz. " Olivia, get something heavy!" Liz yelled. Olivia went into the kitchen. She waited behind the window, until Liz lured the cat to the window. Then, Olivia chucked a large cast iron skillet at the creature. It hit the creature hard. The creature leaned to the side a bit, then rose back up and shook it's head. The bird dove through the window. Olivia took the pot with the soup, the same she had thrown in the guys face earlier, and did the same to it. " SCRAW!" The bird cried in pain. Then, Olivia slammed it on the head with another frying pan and shoved a pasta pot onto it's head. When it got it, it used it's flight ability, but ended up crashing into a ceiling that was spinning at full steam. " Oooo. That's got to hurt." Olivia said. Eliza came in and saw what happened. The cousins clasped hands and ' yeah! We bad!' The yelled. The cat meanwhile, was tangling with Tony and Tom. Tom swung the bat hard as he could into the creatures mouth. He knocked out a few teeth. Tony tripped the massive thing and knocked it into an old pinball machine. IT crashed into the game's board and hit the circuit. Bing! Electrocuted. The four came together. " Haha! That's what you get when you tangle with us!' tom yelled. Then they heard stirring. " you have to be kidding!'

New munks

Andy unleashed

" What do we have to do to these guys?" Tom asked. The bird ripped the pot off it's head and the cat shook violently, shaking the left over electricity out of it fur. " Okay. I'm out of ideas." Olivia said. Tony gulped hard. " Like I said. We are going to die!" Tom looked around for anything else they could do. Unbeknownst to the kids, Jesse had hurried to the phone to summon their parents. They were right now five minutes away. " Hurry Cash!" Alvin asked. " I'm flooring it Alvin!" " Hold it!" an African American man who stopped in the street shouted. Cash slammed on the breaks. " What man? We're in a hurry!" " Dylan?' Theodore asked. " yeah, it's me. What's going on guys?" " Why are you playing traffic cop?!' ' Is that important? The cops were short handed today, so they asked some of us firefighters to help pick up the slack. Why are you guys flying down the street at 80, when the speed limit is 35?' " Dylan! Our. Kids. Are. In. Trouble!" " What's going on?" " Follow us and you'll see." " Right!" Right now, Tom had thoroughly scanned the room. " There isn't anything we can hit these things with!…Wait!'" " Nell!" " What?" " break them!' Helen, they had found, if she concentrated her physic power, could do harm a being's mind. Mostly it caused a massive headache, but if prolonged, she could cripple anything. This was the only offensive ability Kate had been taught by Mrs. Choy and Kate had taught her daughter. Helen nodded and closed her eyes. With in seconds, the monsters where clutching their heads. ' Keep it up!" Soon, they were on their knees. " Just a bit more!" But, when Helen readied the last surge to knock them out, she heard something. " Do It! Kill me!" " Please, I can't stand this. Finish me!' Helen promptly stopped. " What!? Nell, what's wrong?" " I heard them! They were begging me to kill them!" The creatures then got up and lunged. " ugh!' They heard a groan. They looked up. Andy had grabbed the bird-man's beak and had cat man's claws piecing through his shoulder. HE pushed them to the floor. " He's not wearing the Prometheus, is he?" Tom asked. Tony. " I don't know." Adrian ripped the sleeve of his long sleeved shirt off and tied it as a tourniquet for his shoulder. " No metal on his arms. He's not wearing it!" " Then, where did that power come from!?" They looked at their body guards. " No matter what, you will not hurt these kids!" They saw a clear fire burning in his eyes. His hands were clenched so tight all the veins in his hands were poking through the skin. He also seemed to be larger than he normally did. He floored the bird with one solid punch. He grabbed the cat and flung it into the ceiling. He then punched the bird into the other room. He proceeded to follow it and picked up the large metal door that they had knocked off the hinges. He swung the 100 pound door like a bat and clocked the bird into the game room. The bird landed on the pool table. By now the cat was up and sliced his back with his claws. Andy spun around and hit the cat so hard it cracked so ribs. By this time, the parents arrived. " Oh my god! What could finish these things like this?" Theodore asked. " ANDY DID!" The kids yelled. " oh no. The formula kicked in. Cash, take care of Andy. I'll administer the gene cleanser to the beast men." Simon said. " Andy? It's time to stop buddy." Andy looked to beyond his own control. " Sorry man." Cash said, as he reached behind Andy's neck and used the instant knock out move on the very man that had taught him." OH boy.' He said, looking at the kids. " okay, so, do we explain first or do you want to go first?" ' No need Cash. Check out the security camera footage." Jesse said.


	39. Chapter 39

New munks

We're winning

" So, Cash, what do you think?" Alvin asked. Cash examined the damage done. Yes, a ceiling fan had been damaged, but not beyond repair, and Jesse had said he meant to get rid of the pinball machine anyways. Soup needed to cleaned off the floor and other things needed to be put back into place, but all in all it wasn't as bad as could be. " At least They're all safe and sound." " Yeah, nice mess huh? Remind you of anyone?" Brittany teased. " Hey, we didn't break that much stuff." Alvin said. " Honey, a whole factory blew up around us." " Technically, that was more the Franklin kids doing." ' Yeah, well, isn't there a stop sign down by the library with a mysterious dent in it that looks mysteriously like your head?" " That was Damien's doing. He knocked me into that, remember? And, didn't we take that abuse to save you life?" " Yes, and I dearly love you for it." Brittany said, rubbing her neck. " Dad, are we grounded for all the damage that got done to this place?" Tom asked. " No, you couldn't help it." Helen looked down. " What's the matter, Nelly belly?" Katrina asked her daughter. " I heard them, mom. The voices of those guys. They begged me to kill them! You know, put some much pressure on their minds that it kill them!?" Katrina knelt down and hugged Helen. " It's okay. You did the right thing." " But, if I had just turned it up just a bit, then Andy wouldn't have…" " Honey, no matter what, killing is never right. Not when there's a better way." Katrina explained. " Did I do good though?" " Well, judging from I saw, you brought them to knees. These guys are pretty big. To do that, you have to have gotten much stronger." Helen smiled. Her innocence was fully restored. " Aw, give mommy a hug, my raven haired physic warrior." " Ooo!" Theodore said as he and his kids watched the footage. " That move of your packs a punch, doesn't it?" He asked Olivia. " we take after our dad." " Dad, are they going to be alright?" " We'll see Tony. I know this'll clear up Andy and Eli, but, we'll just have to wait and see." Simon said. " Hold their heads up, Ely." " got it Sy." Simon poured the concoction down the beasts men's throats. In five minutes, the men were shaking violently. The fur fell off the cat and the feathers popped off the bird. The fangs went away. As Simon saw the fangs fade, he rubbed his own mouth, clearly thinking about dark Simon. The beak shrank and reverted to a human mouth. After an agonizing ten minutes, the men were back to normal. " You are a freaking Genius, Simon." Alvin said, slapping his brother on the back. " Tell me something I don't know. Jeanette!" " Got it, honey." Jeanette went to work, using her knowledge of medicine, to patch the men up. Cash was now staring at Andy. " Sorry bud, but that's going to have to go once this is all said and done." When's Andy going to wake up, dad?" Tom asked. " Hmm, well, that move knocks a person out for ten to twenty minutes depending on how hard you squeeze. I'd say he'll be up in another ten minutes. And then, he'll have no clue what happened." Tom nodded. " Can I.." " No, son, I'm not teaching you that." Tom snapped his fingers. Cash knelt and tussled his son's hair. " you handled yourself well, I'm proud of you son.' " Thanks dad." Eliza came over, being shoved by Brittany. " Well?" The mother asked her daughter. Eliza extended her hand to Tom. ' Good work." She said, looking in the other direction. Tom grabbed her hand and pulled her to him and hugged her. " You did good too, co-leader.' Liz's look of shock faded into a soft smile.

The parents smiled at each other. " well, Cash? We're winning right?" " Yeah, we are."

New munks

plan

Now, a day had passed. Today, the girls were out doing any last minute things they needed done, before tonight. Tonight, they would settle it with Frankenstein and, hopefully, save whoever the lizard man was and Eli. Cash, Andy, Simon and Xavier were having a strategy meeting. Alvin had to take Eliza somewhere and Theodore was summoned to the label. Some one had to take care of the Europe tour details, and since he wasn't much of a strategist, Theodore said he'd do it. Plans for waging war wasn't his forte, but, music and the process behind the scenes he knew. " Well? Do we just charge in?" Xavier asked. " He might be down two monsters, but he still has two more." Cash said. " That we know off." Simon said. " I'm pretty sure there's only those two left." Andy said. ' Let's hope your right, Andy…. by the way, where are the kids?" Cash asked. " relax, they're at the park with Patricia and Vinny." Xavier said. " Just them?" " Of course not. Cam and Jason are with them. I called them and asked them to watch after the kids, whilst Andy is here." " And Megan and Heather?" " From what I hear, they're staying with Mr. And Mrs. Diggs." " Good old Gary and Mary. I have to write down to go visit Gary when this is over." Cash said. " Is Jesse good to go? He did get shocked." Xavier asked. " No permanent damage was done. He should be fine." Simon said. " And Frankie? Is he willing to do this? The ' good' doctor is still technically his father." " He said he'll do whatever necessary to help us." " And Vick and Elsa?" " Will be staying here, with the kids. Elsa's pretty strong too, so she's a great asset." " Tom is ok staying here?" " Of course not. He wants to be where the action is, but he's not coming. I'll tie to the tree in the back yard if have to. My son is not getting involved in this, not anymore than he already is." " The girls?" 'Are all coming. They're acting as security. Nothing gets out, except us and nothing gets in." " So let me get this straight. All of us are going, and, Frankie, Jesse, Larry, Cam, Jason, and Harry, of all people, are coming too?" Andy asked. " yup." Cash answered.' One, two, three… sixteen people!?" " Hey, you saw the tape. Who's to say that Frankenstein doesn't have that many for us?" Cash asked. " Good point." " Alright. Let's get down to the nitty gritty and figure out our plan of attack, already. Tony wants me to help him make some formula he's got in mind when we're done here and I want to see my son's got cooked up." " Yeah, And tom wants to train. Which reminds me, I still have a bit more work to do on his sword." " True fathers. They're coming up with a battle plan and all they're worried about is when they'll get to their boys." Xavier said. " By the way, Xavier, did Cam give 'those' to you yet?" " The non-wooden ones?" " Yeah." "Yup. They'll get them for Christmas." " Okay." " what?" Andy asked. " Well, I got my sword from Agito when I was about Tom's age, so I figured I'd do the same for him. Been working on it for the last few years. It's an Ikebana tradition, the father makes his son's sword, by hand. And, since Tom's getting a sword for Christmas, we figured it best to make it fair and get Tony, Libby and Liz actual weapons like ours."' But.." " you saw how good they are." " True." 'Alright, time to get to work." Simon said. Meanwhile. " Are sure you need that, Lizzy?" ' come on daddy! you said, you'd get me anything today." " but, a 200 bracelet?" " When's money been an issue for us?" ' Never actually. But, still, your mom and I agreed not to spoil you." " what mom doesn't know, won't hurt us." " That's what you think." Alvin thought.

New munks

Sleep well

" Well, how do I look, daddy?" Eliza twirled around in the dress she was trying on. " Like your going to prom. And your still in elementary. What's all this for anyways?" " Well, I got an email the other day. Even though the school's not open, they're still having a dance. The pta is putting it on. Didn't mom tell you?" " No. Nobody tells me anything." " Aren't you part of the pta with her?" " Yeah, but…" " It's okay. I'll admit, I should have told you sooner, but, you have so much to worry about right now." ' Especially tonight.' Alvin thought. " Well, I want to go. I figure, after all this, we're all going to need a break, right?" " yeah. Be honest, Larry told us when our high school reunion is going to be. We were going to go that as our own little reward. Our own break." " and you were going to tell us this when?" Eliza asked. Sounding like her mother. " We have a lot on our minds right now, alright, sweet heart?" " I understand, daddy." " Anyways, when's this dance?" " The fifteenth." " One week from now?" ' Yeah. When's your reunion?" " the twentieth." " And we leave for Europe when?" ' After Christmas. We leave on the twenty-seventh." " I'm really looking foreword to the trip." " I know you are. That's the hundredth time you've told me this week." ' could we stop in Scotland?" ' Why?" " I just hear it's really pretty and I want to see it." Alvin nodded. " Well? Do I look good enough to go to the dance?" " yeah, but who are you going with? Tom? Tony? Or some guy I don't know about? ' No. Well, if it's a fun song or whatever, I'll dance with family But, I'm not asking one of them to be my date." ' So it's option three?" Alvin asked, giving her the stern look father's give their daughter's in this situation. " Uh.. Yeah." " Who?' ' Promise you won't get mad?" " yeah." ' Rex." " Harry's kid!?" " I know what his dad did, and I know Rex is a sour puss, but, he's not family, available and… well, I think he's kind of cute." " Oh lord on high, where did I go wrong!?" " Daddy!" Alvin smiled. " Well, I can't really say I'm stoke about it, but, if you want to try it, go ahead. Who knows? He could end up your boyfriend. Things worked out with your mom and me and we had a love / hate relationship for a while before Cash showed up, yet we always seemed to be each other's date for a dance." " What are you saying daddy?" " You know how they say opposites attract?" " Yeah." Well, people who are similar attract each other too." " Are you saying I'm like him?'' well, your mom and I were and still are extremely competitive. I won't go into details over what we still 'compete' in." " Please don't." " Anyways, we thought we were nothing alike and now look at us." Eliza sat and thought for a second. " You could be right daddy." " We'll just have to make sure we're careful. Don't want Harry to b an in-law with me." " daddy!" " What? Harry still hasn't proven himself enough to me or the guys. We're just pretending to accept." " What about tonight?" " You'll be at Grandpa Xavier's." " I figured that much. But, isn't Harry coming with you tonight? Doesn't that count for something?" " I'll tell you what we really say, after tonight, deal?" " Deal." " At least he's giving him a chance." Liz thought. " Well, that the one you want?" " Yup." " Alright. Let's go." Later, Alvin was asleep on the couch, getting all the rest he could before tonight. Eliza was cuddled up next to him, dozing lightly. Brittany came in. " Hmph! Leave him alone and he sleeps the day away. And Liz.. I expected better." She then smiled and went over to her most beloved. " Sleep well." she said, kissing Liz's head and Alvin, of course, on the lips. That made him smile.


	40. Chapter 40

New munks

Frankenstein's security

" Alright, you guys be good. Mom, Patricia, don't hesitate to hightail it anywhere safe if they send somebody while we're gone." Alvin said. " Daddy?" " yes, Lizzy?" Eliza handed Alvin a necklace. However, this was no ordinary necklace. It was given to her by a dearly trusted relative, who was now dead. The relative told her, that so long as she wore it, she would always be protected. " The necklace aunt Jenny gave you? But.." " You need more than I do right now." " Thanks baby." " Not a problem daddy.'

" alright. Hugs and kisses everybody. We got work to do." Cash said. " Grandpa?" ' Tom asked Xavier. " Yeah?" " Could you tape it with this camera? I know this'll be better than any pay-per-view. Please?" ' I'll try to put it where it gets a good view of everything." " Thanks." After waving goodbye, everybody was on their way. " Cause we spell trouble. C-h-I-p-m-u-n-k trouble. You better give up on the double. We make all the bad go away." Alvin was singing. " A new song?' Andy, who was riding with Alvin and Brittany, asked. " Hmm? No. Old, way old." 'how old?" " We came up with it when we were eight. Theo, Sy and myself. We formed our own chipmunk block watch of sorts to track a criminal. It was our theme song for that." " I see." The cars rode towards the destination. To help psyche himself, Theodore was playing the radio. He turned it to a station that was playing an old song. ( old in this storyline). Rihanna's Disturbia. " Man does this fit tonight or what?" " You can say that again.' Eleanor said. Simon was thinking of how he should go about attacking. He was short handed in a way. He had modified his staff to have a compartment in it, in which he stored his various capsules ( the vary ones he used against Ken so long ago). He had two special ones, a piece, stored for Eli and the lizard man. The cat man and bird man had fully recovered, so he figured these should work on them. But, he had given about half of his supply of the other kinds of capsules to Jeanette for her own defense. He wondered if just half would do. Cash was recalling every dodge and counter attack technique he had learned from Agito so many years ago. He was also praying he wouldn't have to use the only killing move. " But, if I have to use it on anybody, I believe I'll save it for Frankenstein." He thought. Soon they all arrived at the docks. "Does anybody else have a bad feeling about this?" Simon asked. " you always have a bad feeling Simon." Alvin said. " I'm just saying. This seems to easy." " Relax, we have the element of surprise. He doesn't have a clue we're here." Cash said. " Okay, Cam, Jason, with your skills, your best suited to stay out here and help with security. We'll call for you if we need reinforcements." The two nodded. " Larry, Jesse?" " We know. We assist Harry and Frankie with the grunts. Leaving you four, Andy and Xavier to deal with the monsters." Larry said. " Exactly." " Alright. Simon, you got that device of yours?" " Yup. Just let me scan." Simon had developed, relatively quickly, that would detect any electronic signatures active in the area. That ran the gambit from the cell phones in their pockets, to any security cameras Frankenstein had in place. " Alright. Hmm, for somebody who is great at making monsters, he's lousy on security. Not a camera anywhere." " Your kidding me. You mean we can get the drop on him by just walking through the front door?" Alvin asked. " I think he figures nobody would come around here. What with the crime around here and the smell of the docks. And, besides, he's got monsters, remember?" " Alright. Team chipmunk, foreword!' Alvin shouted.

New munks

S.C.T Vs. Eli

" Nice place. Very evil lair. You think he's got one of those assistants running around? A hunchback dude?" Alvin asked. The munks had wandered into the second room, a very large one, while Larry, Harry, Jesse and Frankie handled a bunch a goons in the last one. As it had turned out, they were wise to prepare for so many. There had to be fifty men those four were facing." Can we stop Frankenstein and then smash this place half way to hell first and then worry about His employment?" Cash asked " Point taken. Think the guys will be okay?' " Of course. I doubt they'll lose easily. Besides, Frankie's with them." " Right. Hmm, I know it's close to 11 and all, but you don't think Frankenstein's asleep do you?'' Don't bet on it, Alvin!" " Oh crap! Alvin, you and your big mouth!" Simon yelled. " Well, well, I wasn't expecting you to come right to me. How did you find my lair?" " Like we'd tell you!" " Doesn't matter! Eli, Experiment 001, destroy them!" The mammoth men lumbered first. " Okay, I'll take the ugly one." Andy said. " Which one is the ugly one?' Xavier asked. ' Which ever one you hit first!" Andy shouted before charging the lizard. " Guess that one's ours!" Xavier shouted. Xavier and Alvin split off to deal with the lizard. " That leaves Eli to us." Simon said. " yup. Ready to kick a little overgrown butt?" " Born ready." Simon said, sliding his glasses into place as cool as possible. " Bring it on!' Eli swung a mammoth forearm. " Duck!" Theodore ducked the attack and hit Eli square in the gut with his tonfa. " Rapid fire!' Theodore shouted before pounding his tonfa as much as possible into Eli's stomach. Eli grabbed him and threw him into a nearby box. As the monster man lumbered to strike Theodore down, Simon released a capsule and flung it at Eli. " Which one was that?" Cash asked. " Cadmium." ' Cadmium?' " Freezing agent." ' How did you pull that off?" " tell you later." Eli rubbed at his now frozen back. " Cash!' Simon yelled, lowering his staff. " Got it!' Cash springboard off the staff onto Eli's head. " Hey buddy boy." Cash said, looking the man in the face. " Don't suppose that if I ask real nice you'll give up, huh?" " Gargh!" Eli tried to grab Cash. " Didn't think so." Cash flipped onto Eli's back, hanging from his throat, and rapidly kicked him in his sensitive back. Cash heard the skin cracking. " Hit something frozen long enough and…' ' Grafg!" Eli snorted before grabbing Cash's foot and flinging him into Theodore. " Cash? Wanna try that one?" " Yeah! Simon!" " Got it!' Simon swept Eli to the ground with the staff and then slapped his staff down hard on Eli's throat, winding him temporarily. All the moves they had made up for dealing with large opponents involved getting Cash into the air. Cash jumped and then leaped off Theodore's tonfa. He came down like a rocket, burying his feet into Eli's stomach, while Theodore and Simon jumped and slammed their weapons into him as well. " Think that did it?" Theodore asked. " Well, he's not moving. Simon, now would be a good time." " Got it." Simon ran and pried Eli's mouth open. But, then, Eli's eyes snapped open. " Oh come on!" Eli swatted Simon away and crushed the capsule had in hand underfoot. " any body got any ideas?" Theodore asked. Cash vaulted off the wall and buried his knee and the blunt side of his sword into the back of Eli's head, forcing him into the floor, face first. " That work for you?" He asked. Theodore nodded. Eli began to stir again. " Oh no you don't!" Simon said, vaulting off his staff and bringing his knee down hard onto Eli's head. ' Stay down!' Theodore shouted as he stomped at the frozen bit of Eli's back.

New munks

A.A.X vs. the lizard

Meanwhile, the others were only doing a bit better. " Take this!' Andy spouted before using the suit's power to spring right into the Lizard's face. He then Landed two heavy, haymaker-like punches and then crashed his knee into the beasts chest. " ROWR!" He knocked Andy back to the floor. Xavier loaded a shell into his gun. Specialized stun shells. They were designed, by a company of Xavier's ( how much he owns comes in handy, doesn't it?), to stick into any surface, no matter how thick, with their razor sharp points and then release a cloud of nerve gas. " Andy, Alvin! Keep him still!' " What do you think we're trying to do, Grandpa?! Tell him to settle down a bit. Then we'll gladly hold his hand while he takes his shot!' Alvin yelled. The lizard swatted at Alvin, knocking him to the floor. Alvin, not wanting to lose any momentum, flung his sai at the only point he saw that didn't have armor like scales on it, the.. Well, armpit. The sai stuck in and Alvin leaped up to rip them out, proceeding to dodge around the beast until he got another shot. He slashed the beasts hands hard as he could, but the impact only repelled the attack. " All I'm doing is dulling my sai. We need a better way of doing this. Hmmm…" He looked around. He noted a large barrel above the lizard. " that just has to work!' " Andy! Hold him!" " Got t!" The beast attacked Alvin, but Andy caught him. " Push it back!' Andy's mind yelled. As he began to exert himself more and more, he could feel the formula kicking in. Xavier saw it. " I don't know what that is, but I know a transformation when I se one." Xavier thought. " Andy, keep yourself together!" He yelled. " I'LL TRY!" Andy yelled, now fully changed. The boost from the formula proved to be what he needed. HE not only shoved the beast back while Alvin made for the upper level of the warehouse, but Knocked him to the floor. He then violently kicked the creature. Alvin, meanwhile, was shoving and shoving on the barrel.. ' Stupid thing! Move!" Just as he uttered move, the barrel fell and crashed onto the lizard's head. "that had to hurt!' The lizard was now on the receiving end of Andy's assault. " save me some!' Alvin yelled as he leaped from the upper level and landed right onto the beasts shoulders. Alvin punched the sides of it's head with his sai. Andy meanwhile, grabbed the thing and hoisted it above his head, knocking Alvin to the floor in the process. He threw the creature close to Xavier. " Shot him now!' Xavier just pointed the gun down and pulled the trigger. The dart like bullet stuck deep and the cloud was released. The creature twitched while his brain was firing like mad. " Well, I think it's safe to say he isn't going anywhere.' Xavier said. " Damn it! Stay down Eli!' They heard Cash cry. " Shall we lend a hand?" Andy was already rushing for his next fight. " That answer your question?" Alvin asked. Xavier loaded another shot and fired it into Eli's beefy shoulder. The cloud released and Andy whailed on the man. Finally dealing enough damage, Sy, Al and Theo tackled Andy before he went completely insane. Cash held his sword to Eli's throat. " Don't even try getting up." Cash said, imploringly. " Andy, open your blood trap!" Alvin yelled. Simon threw a weaker capsule down Andy's throat. Andy stopped moving, then shook and began to shrink. " I put quick release jackets on these." Simon said. " Please…" Cash heard. " Huh?" He looked down at Eli. ' I'm begging you, while I still have control… Kill me! Please… sink you sword into me. I want this done with."


	41. Chapter 41

New munks

Let's finish this

"You got it." Cash said." But, I'm not going to kill you. Sy." " Here you go." " Now, Open your mouth. Can you do that?" Eli opened his mouth. Cash popped the most concentrated capsule in. " Now, just sit tight and let that do it's magic." Eli laid still while the capsule went to work. " Sy, you'd better fix scaly before he gets up." Alvin said. " I'm on it." Cash looked around. " Now, where's Frankenstein?" " In that room over there, waiting or us probably." Alvin said. " Let's make sure these guys are alright and then we'll have a nice chat with the good doctor.' Cash said. Simon had just administered the capsule. Already, Eli had shrunk from about seven and half, possibly eight feet tall, to about six feet. " How tall are you?" Simon asked. " Six feet tall." Eli answered. " Hmm, you about that now. Your back to normal height, Now, let's get you out of here while the massive swelling on your muscles goes down." Simon and Theodore hoisted Eli up and Xavier and a still woozy, but also still functioning, Andy helped the former lizard man out of the room. Alvin and Cash nodded to each other. " Whoa, you guys cleaned house!' They heard Theodore yell. " Guess that means Frankie and the gang took care of those goons." " sent them packing with their tails between their legs!' They heard Jesse say. With that, the brothers knew there was only one last piece of business left. " Let's not keep the man waiting." Cash said. Alvin nodded. " Let's finish this." As they entered the room with Frankenstein, Xavier, Simon and Theodore returned. " where'd they go?" Theodore asked. They heard the door slam. " Oh no!' Simon yelled. He ran to the door. " Son of a.. It's locked from the other side. " We just have to trust that Alvin and Cash can handle this." Xavier said. Theodore shook his head. " They always have to be the big heroes…. Man, I want my shot at him too." Theodore admitted. There's nothing we can do now. Let's just go wait with the others." Xavier grabbed the camera and talked directly to it. " Sorry kiddies. This is where the show ends." He said. Meanwhile, Cash and Alvin looked around the room. " where hell is he? There's no where else to go." Alvin said. " Who knows?" " HEY! Frankenstein! Where'd your chicken you know what get to?!' " Thank you Alvin. Say, could you repeat that, but louder? I don' think They heard you on THE OTHER SIDE OF TOWN!" Cash said. " what?" Alvin asked. Clap, clap, clap. " Impressive. You beat my men handily." " It's over Frankenstein. We've taken out all your group goons and reverted the last of your monsters." " Just because you returned those street urchins to normal, doesn't mean I'm out of monsters. I still have my secret weapon. ' And what's that? Another cyber bear?" Alvin laughed. " No! It would be myself!' Frankenstein shouted as he rose into the air. " How's he doing that?!" Alvin asked. " Look at the floor Al!" They noted a large, scorpion like tail. " you have to be kidding… He experimented on himself!?" Huge spider legs erupted from Frankenstein's back. His fingers grew into claws and his muscles grew to hulk proportions. His skin's pigment, for some reason, turned an evil looking crimson color. His legs, almost sickeningly, remained the same size and just dangled there. " NOW! WITNESS MY TRUE POWER!" Cash and Alvin looked at each other and laughed. " WHAT!? YOU STILL DARE MOCK ME!?" " Dude. You can change everything about you, but you leave that giant nose?!" Alvin laughed. " LET'S SEE HOW WELL YOU LAUGH, ONCE I RIP APART!" Cash cocked an eyebrow. " you think your scary? Let me tell you, we're a dozen times scarier."

New munks

This is for

The doctor slammed his fist on the ground, which Al and Cash narrowly avoided. Alvin jammed his sai straight into the doctor's hand. ' YOU LITTLE!" he back handed Alvin. " OW! Damn! That was uncalled for. I just prick you and smack me across the room?" Cash threw a beaker of what appeared to be acid at Frankenstein's spider legs. " ARG!" " You like that? Wrong place to pick a fight. Where there's lots of stuff we can hurt you with." " I'LL SHOW YOU HURT!" One large leg came straight at Cash, but Alvin threw his sai into Frankenstein's gut. " ARG! YOU LITTLE BUG! I'LL SQUASH YOU FIRST!" Alvin leaped away and then yanked his sai out at the next chance. Cash meanwhile was pelting the doctor with everything he could find. After running out of things, and having to resort to throwing a trash can, he said " What the hell am I doing? Man, I must have gotten hit in the head by Eli more than I thought." " Hey Cash? Do I get the honor of taking out this waste of our time myself?" " Not on your life!" Alvin struck The doctor in tail repeatedly. Finally, Cash went and sliced it deep with his sword. The wound caused the tail to collapse and the brothers stood over the doctor. Cash went and grabbed a spider leg and then broke it. " That's for roughing up Tom!" He broke another. " That's for Helen!" Alvin broke one. " that's for Eliza." Cash stabbed Frankenstein's hand. " that's for Ben and Libby." " That's for Tony!" Alvin said, stomping on Frankenstein's other hand. Finally he doctor had gotten enough strength back in his tail, his main support, to perform a tail whip and fling the brothers into the door. " I DON'T CARE ABOUT OUR REASONS! I JUST WANT YOUR MINDLES TAUNTS TO STOP!" " Mindless? Cruel, maybe. Hurtful, definitely. But mindless? Give us some credit man. It takes at least half a brain cell to think these up. Which is more than your using to plan your attacks." Alvin mocked. " Less than half? 'whistle' how'd you become a doctor while using such a little amount of your brain?" Cash continued. " YOU IDIOTIC FOOLS!" Frankenstein shot his tail at them and they dodged out of the way. It rammed through the large metal door and got stuck. " See, that's what we're talking about." Alvin said. As the doctor tried to rip his tail from the door, Cash got right up in his face. Dropping the foolish, jokester look from beforehand, he stared the man he hated more than anything right now dead in the eye. HE clocked his hand back and began pummeling Frankenstein. " This is for those sleepless nights! This for driving me half out of my mind! This is for making me crazy enough to yell at Kate! This is for sending your freaks after my kids! This for all the damage your monsters did to my friends arcade. This is for making me put our dearest friends in the line of fire!' As Cash continued to count off the reasons, Alvin noted that he seemed to be edging closer and closer to dark Cash the more he hit Frankenstein. As he saw the blood dripping from Frankenstein's clearly busted nose, Alvin thought that he should do something. After all, cash was no killer and if he kept going, that's what he would become. " This is for playing with innocent lives! And this…" Alvin grabbed Cash's fist. " Your stopping me!?" "if you keep hitting him, you going to cave his head in." ' that's the idea!" " Cash, ease off bro. your not a killer, remember? And, I don't think even the doctor here can survive a smashed in head." Cash lowered his fist. "One more?' He asked Alvin. " As long as we do it together." They let him have it.. " AND THIS IS JUST BECAUSE WE DON'T LIKE YOU!" They yelled.

New munks

Why does everything have to explode?

Cash and Alvin, firmly believing they had knocked Frankenstein out, were acting like little kids. ' Who's bad?" Alvin asked. " We bad!" Cash returned. Frankenstein reverted to normal, or whatever normal was for him. " You think you win?" "man, why don't you bad guys just stay down?" Alvin asked. " I may be beaten, but.. I will not go alone!' " Where have I heard that before?" Cash thought. Frankenstein rolled over to reveal a button, pressed down, on a control. BOOM! " Not again!' Alvin shouted. " Not twice in one life!" " Let's complain later! We got t get out of here!" They dashed out the hole in the door. " what about Frankenstein!?" Cash yelled. " Personally, I hope this is his tomb, but I figure he'll find a way out. But, let's worry about us and our kin first!" Alvin said ' Guys? What's going on?" Theodore yelled. " Frankenstein's pulling a Franklin! We got to get out of here or we're going to be flash fried chipmunks!" Alvin yelled." Not again!' Simon yelled. " Run for it!" They charged into the next room. " Everybody out, this place is going up!" Boom!' No argument here!" Jesse cried. The gang began hightailing it. Really hauling you know what. They saw the goons that been defeated by Larry and his group forcing past the girls. Cash had a flash back to their escape from the Franklin kids lair. ' No way! Ain't gonna get me this time either!" HE yelled. He shoved his brothers and they in turn shoved everybody else. They came shooting out the door, tackling the girls to a distance of only two feet away and covered themselves and the girls. "BOOM!" Now, the place was ablaze, it's roof lighting the night sky with vivid flame. The guys turned to the fire, but didn't get off their wives. " Damn, nothing could have survived that." Alvin said. " Frankenstein's dead?" Jeanette asked. " I don't know for sure, but, Alvin's right. Anything that was still in there is dead for sure." Simon answered his wife. " well, can we get up now?" Brittany asked. The guys got up. " Remind you of…" Katrina started. Cash stopped her. " Don't honey. Please." She nodded. " Think he's really dead?" " I don't know honey, Alvin and I beat and taunted him pretty good. He might be." " Let's just say he is, so we can sleep tonight." Brittany said. Cash slumped a bit, giving into his exhaustion. " Yeah, sleep sounds good." Cash said, yawning big. Eli made his way over to the exhausted leader. ' I want to thank you." " Not a problem. We were going to get around to put him 6 feet under at some point anyways." " so, I was just a side goal?' " Not exactly. See, I didn't kill you for two reasons. One, killing is against my policies. And two, I felt guilty for putting you in that position where he could get to you in the first place. Now, I would have stopped you from taking Cam's and all that stuff anyways, but.." Simon came up. " your not psychic, you couldn't have see this coming." ' Your, uh, brother's right. I don't blame you." Why did you start stealing that night anyways?" " My mom is bad off. Got something bad. I needed money." " So, you were an innocent just pushed to far?' I guess." Cash looked to Jason. Jason nodded. " Eli, what would you say if I told you I might be able to get you a job with fair bit of money coming in?" " well I'd say.. Wait, you can do that?!" ' BE at the chipmunks label the day after tomorrow. We'll see what we can swing. It's listed in the phone book." Harry looked around. ' Um, shall we get out of here? Before somebody comes and we get charged with arson?" " yeah, let's go. And Harry?' ' Yeah? " you've officially proven yourself to us. No hard feelings?" " course not."


	42. Chapter 42

New munks

Thebo?

The next day, the chipmunks were doing what they always did after a big adventure such as last night, getting back to their normal lives as quickly as possible. It continually surprised those who knew them how fast they got back to normal, day to day life. Cash and Simon though, explained that if they didn't, and actually concentrated on all the insanity, they would go insane. To balance all the crazy, they needed as much normal possible, and fast. So, in the spirit of normalcy, Theodore and his piece of the Seville brood, were doing something very typical (pretty much bi-weekly) for them. Taking a trip to the store. Ben grabbed a package from the aisle he was in and ran for his father. " DAD!" Ben shouted, making Theodore jump. " Yes, Benny?' " Look!" The young chipmunk held up the package. Double fudge cookies, with m& m's in them no less. ' I don't know Ben. Your mom wants us to cut back, a little anyways, on our sugar in take." " Come on dad. What mom doesn't know, right?" " Uh…" " All we got to do is put them right here, underneath the cart and mom will never know!' Um, Ben…" " What?… oh no…. she's right behind me, isn't she?" " Yeah." Ben spun around, putting on the biggest, uneasy smile he could. " Hi Mom!" 'Hello honey.' Eleanor said. " Hey Mom? Have I told you I love you today?" " Yes, dear, you did. Before we left the house. You tell me every morning." ' Okay, just making sure." " Now, what is it I don't know?" " Oh you heard that?" " Yes." " You don't know…. That…. I think your prettiest out of the chipettes!" Eleanor smiled." He tries way to hard when it comes to lying. I don't think he has a dishonest bone in his body. If he does, it's tiny, and it's being strained right now." She thought. She rubbed her son's head. " Aw, thank you honey." She continued past him to Theodore. Ben sighed a sigh of relief. " Theo, honey?" " Yes dear?" " Go ahead and get the cookies." " But you said.." " I know but, come on, it's double fudge, how can we resist those?" she continued walking away to finish shopping. " We?" Theodore thought. " Oh! That wife of mine is slick." He thought. " Already, Benny, put it in the cart." " Mom bought it?" " Not by a long shot. I think you just lucked out by the cookies being double fudge." Later on, Olivia had joined Ben and their father. " Hey daddy?" Olivia asked. " yes?" " Can we get some cinnamon?" ' Why?" " Cause I want to make some cookies for somebody and cinnamon always makes these taste better." " A friend of yours in the hospital?" " No." " Then who are you making them for?" " promise you won't be mad?" ' Of course." ' well, as mom told you last night, and yes I heard that, the pta of our school is hosting a dance down at the rec center on the fifteenth." " Right. So? They for your date?" " Yes." " Who's the lucky devil?" " Zack." " Zack… wait, you don't mean THAT Zack do you?" Olivia nodded. " It thought you and your brothers decided you liked Harry last night." " We decided we accept him, that doesn't mean we have to like him." " Daddy…" " Oh, don't do the puppy dog eyes. Trying to say no to you, is like trying to say no to your mother." " You'll let me ask him then?" " Like I got a choice." Then he laughed a bit. "Nah, you do what makes you happy Libby." " Thanks daddy." A blonde hair woman, looking to be the same age as Theodore, noted the chipmunk father at the end of the aisle. " It can't be. It has to be someone else. But.. How many other green wearing chipmunks do I know?" She thought. She decided to go say high. " Thebo?"

New munks

Juliet

" Huh? Only one person ever called me that." Theodore said out loud. He whipped around. " No way! Juliet?" " Glad you remember me, Thebo." " Um, Juliet, you do know that my name's Theodore, right?" ' Yeah, but, I'm just making sure you remember me." " Well, you were the only person to call me that. Then again, that was from my being tongue tied." Theodore laughed. " You look great." " Thank you. You seem fit as ever.' Juliet said. " Dad?" " yeah?' " Who's she?" " Oh, hi. My name's Juliet. Juliet Swanson." Juliet said, Extending her hand. Ben shook her hand. "I'm Ben. Benjamin David Seville." " And you?" Juliet asked Olivia." " Olivia Swan Seville, Ben's older sister." " You have kids now?" " yeah. Cute aren't they?" " very." " Theodore?' Eleanor asked. She was just bringing the last items they needed and had noted her husband and children chatting with a strange woman. " oh, Ely." " Um, hello? Eleanor Seville, and you are?" " It's Seville now?" " Huh? Do I know you?" " Well, back then, I knew you as Eleanor Miller." " Where do I know you from?" "Eleanor, it's Juliet." Theodore said. " No way! Juliet!?" " Good to see you again Eleanor." Eleanor immediately hugged Juliet. " Oh my God! It's so good to see you.' " Mom?" " yes, Benjy?" ' Is somebody going to tell us who Juliet is?" " Mom?" Juliet asked. Eleanor, in the manner of an answer, held Theodore's hand up and showed her ring. " Oh, you got married!? Good for you! You know, I always had a feeling about you two." " Yup. And these are our wee-ones." Eleanor said. " You have adorable kids, Eleanor.' " Thank you." " Can somebody tell us who Juliet is!?" Olivia asked. " Well, when your dad and I were kids, before uncle Cash and aunt Katrina came along, we were still up in the air about how we felt about each other. You aunt and uncle brought us to where we are." " Right, we know that mom.' Olivia said. ' well, while that was going on, your dad met Juliet here. Ha, ha, I heard he was so tongue tied, so nervous about talking to her, that he told her his name was Thebo-bo-Bebo." The kids chuckled. " Well, since he couldn't talk to her himself, your aunts and I tried to 'flirt' him up, make him look popular you know? Get her attention. That failed, and then we asked Alvin. Alvin was too good, cause she fell for him instead of your dad. After a while, we got her off Alvin and onto your dad, by accident. She came looking for Alvin and Theodore was sitting there eating some ice cream. It happened to be the kind Juliet liked too. That sent the sparks off." "So, Juliet's an old girlfriend of dad's?" Ben asked. " Yup." " But, when did he break up with her to get with you?' Olivia asked her mother. " well, Juliet had to move away later on, cause her dad got a new job. We broke up then. Five years later, I got the woman that I realized I had wanted all along." Eleanor smiled. " I love you too, Theo." " Glad to see it all panned out. Good for you." ' There's no, you know, sparks left, are there Juliet?" Eleanor asked. " Relax Ely. Theodore's all yours. I like him, but as a friend. You feel the same, right Theodore?' " Yup. Just friends. I only love you, Ely. By the way, when did you move back?" " A year ago. I saw a job opening in my home town and I went for it." ' You got a new boyfriend?" Ben asked. " Why, you like me?" " Just asking." " Yeah, I do." " Who?" Eleanor asked. " His name's Jesse Talbot. He might be younger than me, but, I love him." " Did you say, Jesse Talbot?!" ' Yeah, why? You know him?…wait. Your That Ben and Olivia he's always talking about!?"

New Munks

Will you go with me?

" Well, it was good to see you again. Here's our phone number. Maybe we could have you over for dinner sometime? You and Jesse?" Eleanor asked. ' Love to." When the kids started carrying things to the car, Juliet pulled Eleanor to the side. " look, I know what happened last night. Jesse tells me everything. I'm glad he wants to help so much. But, I begging you, when he helps you, could you keep an eye on him for me?" " Your wish is my command." Eleanor laughed. " Alright. And, if you need anything, this is my number." " but, this is Jesse's number." " We decided for me to move in last week." " Whooo, just a step more and it's good bye Juliet Swanson, hello Juliet Talbot." " Let's hope so." " Alright, see you around." " bye." later on, Theodore was on the phone with Alvin. ' So, was it good to run into Juliet?" " yeah, It was good to see her again." ' Any butterflies this time?" " no. why would there be? I love Ely, you know that." " Yeah. And, we're going to have to talk to Jesse later." ' Yeah." " So, Libby wants to go to this dance with Zack, huh?" " yeah, and Liz wants Rex?" " Yup. Cash told me that Tom's going to ask Roxy and Nell wants to go with Jake. Then there's Tony, who wants to go with Nikki. And, if they all like them, I'll bet Ben wants to go with that Holly." " Ben, is that true? You want to go with to the dance with Holly?" Theodore asked his son. ' uh, yeah." " I heard him. Can I pick them or what?" " Or what is more like it." Theodore mumbled. " what was that?" ' Nothing. I was just making a note to myself to buy Oj."" Uh-huh. You know what we ought to do?" " no." " We should gather all the kids up and go over to Harry's. Let them ask them then." " When?" ' Right now is good for me." " Me too. You call Cash and I'll call Simon." " I'll bet it'll be Jeanette to come, cause Sy's got his nose buried this far into a book." ' Yeah, I'll see you soon." Alright." Later. " what are we doing at Harry's place?" " Visiting." Cash answered Tom. " Come on in." Charlene said. " why don't you guys go say hi to our kids" " Go on." Jeanette pushed." uh, hi, Roxy.' Tom said. " Oh, the son of the rock stars knows my name? I'm flattered." Tom edged into her room. " um.." ' What?" " did you know there's dance coming? " I've heard. Mom wants me to go, but.." " You got anybody in mind?" " No, Dances are stupid." " well, I wouldn't mind going." ' Good luck with that."" You don't get it. Roxy, would you be my date?" " what!? The prince wants somebody from the squalor?" "Your brother gets under my skin, but, your not too bad. If I can handle Liz, surely I can take you." " you wanna bet? I'm real firecracker." " Have you met my cousin?" " Point. And you know something?" " What?" Roxy pecked tom's cheek. " Your kind of cute yourself." she said with a wink. " Well?' He pressed. ' eh, what the heck?' Tom hugged her. ' Thank you." " hey, hey. No hugging." " But you just.." " You tell Rex and I'll kill you. And, as cute as I think you are, I'd hate to do that." " Admit it." Tom said smiling. " what?' ' You like me too." " We'll see. Just don't do anything stupid." " yes ma'am." Meanwhile. " And you want me? The princess wants a pauper?" " Please Rex?" " Eh, why not?' And. ' Well, Zack?" " Well, your decently cute. Sure." And. " Well Nikki?" " Okay. You promise you can play Romeo?" " I can try. And I always try hard in everything I do." " Good." and. " You want us?" " Please Holly?" ' Please Jake?" The twins looked at each other. ' Only if you kiss me." Jake said." What!?' Nell shouted." Please Nell. I really want to go with Holly." ' Close your eyes." Jake did and Nell squeezed her eyes tight and made contact.


	43. Chapter 43

New munks

Eli's job

" So, Eli, how old are you?" Todd asked. Today, Cash had brought Eli in, as he had said, and was currently trying to get him a job. " I'm twenty sir, I'll be twenty-one in two months." " He's twenty and he lives with his mom?" Alvin, also there, asked Cash. " Ahem!" Andy, acting as third reference, said." Right, I'll just shut up now." Alvin said. " Well, do you have any particular talents we could make use of?" Todd asked. " Um… let me think. Oh, yes. I can program a synthesizer. Any sounds you want in it, I can do." ' Watch out Simon." Alvin mumbled. " Really? We usually have Simon do that, but, then again, as one of the performers, he has other things to worry about when it comes close to show time." ' yeah, make Einstein's job a little easier." Alvin said. " Is he always like that?" Eli asked Cash. " Yeah." " I see." " you think that's bad? He's my brother. Matter of fact, Sy, Theo, Al and myself are quadruplets." " Eli looked at Alvin and then back to Cash. " But, you don't look that much alike. Some similarities yes, but, not identical."' Being born in groups of four doesn't mean your going to look the same, Eli. Take our wives for example. They're all from one birth to, but they are as different as the seasons." " True." " Besides, the world couldn't take it if we all looked like me." Alvin said. ' Too much Awesome!" " Er.." Eli said. " don't worry, you get used to him." Andy said. Cash shook his head. " and to think, he's a parent." " Hey, if all your going to do is rip on me, then I'll just go home. I've got better stuff to do with Britt and Eliza anyways."' Calm down, Al. We're just kidding." cash said. " Alright. I'll cut you slack. Just don't let it happen again." " yes sir." Cash said sarcastically. " Well, Toddy?" Alvin asked. " Hmm, theft is a problem, but, hey, Harry and Jason have pasts and they're on the payroll. Alright. Hold on just a second." Todd picked up the two way speaker phone, which was built into the desk conveniently enough. He dialed for Simon. " Hello?' Simon answered. ' Hey, Sy. It's Todd." " What is it Todd? I'm busy right now." " Doing what?" Alvin said, nudging Cash and winking. " Dude, do you have to turn everything somebody says into an innuendo?" Cash asked. "Kill joy." " Listen Simon. This'll just take you from your work for a minute." " Okay." " Hey, Sy? What are you and Jena up to!?" Alvin yelled. ' We're making.." " Another kid!" Alvin interrupted. " Shut up Alvin. No, we're making some upgrades to Andy's suit." " Well, that's good. Better equipped the body guard is, the safer the kids are." Alvin said, sounding serious for the first time today." that's the idea. Any who, what did you want Todd?" " Are you tired of programming the synthesizer for the tour?" " Honestly, yes. It's so complicated and I have so much else to do." " That's my point. Guess what Eli can do?" " Your kidding." " Nope.' " If he could do that, why didn't he do that to earn money?" " There were no openings for people with my skills." Eli said. " Yeah, and people often don't think clearly when they're desperate Sy." Alvin said. " you have a point, Alvin." Eli looked down. " relax bud. We know where your coming from. We got your back." Cash said. " well, Sy? Do you think Eli would be able to take your place and free you up?" " Of course. Just come over later on and I'll run what needs to be programmed, as for right now, by you." " Of course, Mr. Seville." " Just Simon, Eli." " Right. You can call us by our first names." Alvin said. " Alright, Todd, do it." Simon said. " Let's hear that familiar saying of yours." Alvin said. " Eli, welcome to chipmunk records." " Thank you! You guys rock!' " Yeah, we know."

New munks

Roxy and tom

A week later. Now, it was time. The boys were dressed in suits and the girls in dresses. The kids were well on their way to the dance. Harry's brood would meet them there. " Hey dad?" Tom asked. " yeah?" " How do you get a girl to like you?" " Be yourself." " That's the typical dad answer." " That's how it worked out with your mom and me." " But, you guys were love at first sight. What about if the girl is on the fence about whether she likes you or hates your guts?" " Roxy?" " yeah." " Well, just try to appeal to what she likes. Ask questions. Be subtle, but, find out what she likes and play off that." " hey Cash?" " Yes, Katie?" ' when did you become a romantic?" ' When I met you." " Really?" " Yeah. Before, I didn't care much for love. Not after Agito died. I tried to be detached from everybody, so I wouldn't feel the sting when they left me. But, when I saw you, I couldn't help myself." Katrina smiled. " Ahem." Tom said. " If your going to make out, can you at least drop us off first?" Cash laughed. Later, Tom had to ask Helen something. " Hey, Nell?" ' Yeah?' " Ben told me that Jake said he and Holly would only come if you kissed Jake. Did you really?" ' yeah. But, not where you think." ' Where?" " I kissed his cheek. I did it and said ' there' and he was like ' but that wasn't..' I said ' you said I had to kiss you, you didn't say where.'" " and he agreed to come anyways?" ' Yup." " Look at you, little sister. Slick, real slick." ' Thank you. It was easy actually. Jake's cute and I like him and all, but he's so easy to trick." " Mom?" " Yes Tom?" " I do believe something of Aunt Brittany has woken up in Nell." Katrina held her laugh in. Finally, they pulled up to the rec center. " Have fun guys. We'll pick you up at Ten." Cash said. " Bye!" The kids yelled. Nell went off to find her date. Roxy came walking up. " whoa!' Tom said, looking at roxy. " What?" She asked. " It's just.. You look great." " Well, thanks I guess. I don't dress like a tom boy all the time you know. Although, this is the most done up I've been in a while." " Um, I think I'm supposed to give this to you." Tom said, pulling out a flower. " A flower? What do you think this is, a 'date' date?" " It was my grandma's idea. She's old fashioned, but, she's my mom's mom, so you know. Got to listen to her or I'll never hear the end of it." " don't even get me started on relatives. Do you know how long mom kept each of us girls in this little chair at home, just to do our hair!?" "An hour?" " Close. Two hours! Each! I just thank God I was last. Poor Nikki was first. Until this sets or that sets, we couldn't move. Mom was afraid it would get messed up if we did.' " Sounds like a royal pain. Urg! Could you hold that thought?" He yanked his tie off. ' ah, so much better. Man, that's the last time I let grandpa Dave help me get ready for this kind of thing. That thing was choking me." ' Tell me about it. You think I like wearing this bow in my hair?" ' Your mom's not around and personally, I think you look better with out it." " Oh god! thank you!' She yanked the accursed item. " Man, that thing was scratching my head." " yeah, our families decked us out too much. Look, over there's the third kid in a row I've seen show up with a fancy top and jeans." " yeah." " Well, it seems everybody else isn't doing to bad ' hitting it off ', as uncle Alvin would say." ' Guess not. I wasn't expecting Nikki and Tony to hit it off, but look. He's gotten her laughing harder than Rex ever could." " well, it's almost time. Shall we go inside?" " Let's." Internally, Roxy was thinking " Rex was wrong about him. He totally gets me. Huh? Why do my insides feel funny? My heart…. What is this?"

New munks

Making a Talbot

While the kids were busy 'building bridges', the parents were off to Xavier's. Everyone involved was to be there. Jason, Cam, larry, etc. and of course their significant other. " So, what's this dinner all about?" Cash asked. " We figured, why not have a little victory party for the defeat of Frankenstein while the kids are off looking for cupid?" Alvin said. "Alvin, is it right to be celebrating something that could mean that somebody died?" Theodore asked. " Theo, do you honestly believe Frankenstein's dead?" " No. I figure we'll hear from him again some day. Just hopefully not soon." " Exactly. And besides, we're not celebrating his possible demise, we're celebrating the fact that we won. Don't you think we ought to acknowledge everybody's efforts?' Alvin asked. " you have a point." " Hey, Frankie." Cash said as he and Elsa came in. " Hey." " Where's Vick?" Alvin asked. " With your kids." ' at the dance? Who did he ask out?" " Jessica." " Talbot?" " Yup." " your son and Larry's daughter? Together?" " well, he seemed to like her. Maybe they'll hit it off. We'll just have to wait and see.' Elsa said. Jesse came in with his parents, Kathleen and Juliet in tow. ' So, we finally get to meet the elusive girlfriend you never mentioned." Alvin said. " We had to find out through Theo and Ely." " I'm sorry guys. I just never thought you'd want to know." " Your our friend Jesse. If anything important comes up, we'd like to know about it." Brittany said. ' Understood." Jesse said. Jesse looked kind of nervous. Juliet looked the same way. " Tonight's about them." They thought. " I shouldn't bother them with this." Jesse?" " huh? What Simon?" " I asked you if you could pass the pepper?" " Oh, sure." being the closest to the two, Theodore and Eleanor picked up on it. " Jesse, is there something your not telling us?" Theodore asked. " Huh? What? No. No. Everything's fine." ' but daddy." " Not now Kathy." " Jesse.." cash said. " I'm serious. Nothing's wrong." " Jesse, don't lie to us." " If there's something you want to say, say it." Alvin encouraged. " Yeah. This family doesn't keep secrets. So, spill." Brittany added. " alright." Jesse and Juliet got up and went to the edge of the table. Cash moved out of the way so that all could see. " Guys, Juliet and I." ' We're getting married!' Juliet blurted. The munks were nearly floored. " Um, yeah us?" Juliet asked. Brittany looked at Jesse. " what?" " You kept something like that from us?!" Alvin stood next to his wife, giving that ' I'm with her' look. Cash pushed past his sister and brother. He put on a wide grin. " What are you planning Cash?" Jesse asked. " Wouldn't you like to know?" He looked back to everybody. " Now!" All the married couples jumped them. " Welcome to the club!' After it dawned on the couple, they began laughing. " So, when's the wedding?" Alvin asked." We've got a real simple wedding in mind. Just close family and friends." " That would mean.. well, just us." Alvin said." Right. So, when we can get ourselves a preacher, we can have a wedding." " Cash, call grandma." Alvin said. " Right." " huh?" Jesse asked. " There's a preacher out by where grandma and grandpa Seville live. He must be in his late fifties, maybe mid-sixties by now. Anyways, he's the one who did all our weddings. Me and Alvin, Cash and Katrina, etc. So, hopefully he'll do yours too." " Grandma said she'll talk to him at the service tomorrow night and let us know the day after." " so, we'll know by Friday. And, our class reunion is Monday. Squeeze the wedding in sometime after that and we'll still have time for Christmas. Things are going to be hectic, but we can manage." Brittany said.


	44. Chapter 44

New munks

Complicated

" Well, we best go get the kids." Cash said. " night guys." Jesse said. " Bye." Kathy shot, as loud as possible, looking directly at Cash. " Harry, Char, you ready?" " Yup. Let's go see how this all panned out." Charlene said. Elsa seemed anxious, as did Raya, to find out how Vick and Jessica were doing. When they arrived, Rex and Eliza were talking. " So, um, that was fun." Liz said, scratching the back of her head ( much like her father). " You get your dancing skills from your mom, don't you?" Rex asked. " yeah. Mom's great. You know, there's a concert planned for when we get back?" " your going somewhere?" Rex asked. " We're going on vacation, kind of. We're flying out to Europe, for the Europe tour. If the jet was big enough, I'd ask to take you with us." " Well, maybe next time?" " Yeah. Sure." Eliza was blushing really hard and Rex was as well, but he hid it by constantly rubbing his nose. " Lizzy!" Alvin called. " hi daddy." " Hey Rex." Harry said. " Hi dad." " Any reason you two are red as beats?" Harry asked. The two looked away, trying to conceal it. " Well, say night Liz, we got to go home. We got something to prepare for." " Your high school reunion? You don't need us for that. Um, I could ride with home with Rex." " You can see your boyfriend later." " He's not my boyfriend. He's just my date." " And I'm the king of England." Alvin thought. " Uh-huh. Sure." Alvin said. " I'm serious daddy! He's not my boyfriend!" " Not yet anyways." She thought. " Whatever, let's go." " but daddy, you don't need us to get ready for your reunion." " That's not what I'm talking about Liz." " Then what are you talking about?" " Jesse's getting married." " What!? Really?" " Yup. Found out this evening. Rex, Harry will give you the details." " Ok." " well, let's go!' " Night guys." Alvin said. Rex kicked his feet. " What's the matter?" Harry asked. " I was kind of hoping she'd…" " Kiss you?" " No!… Well, at least a hug bye or something. Man, I knew she was stuck up. Asks me out and then just runs off. And to think I was starting to like her." Liz suddenly turned away from her father and ran back. Liz ran right up to rex. She kissed his cheek and gave him a hug. " I had fun. I'll see you later." She then ran back to her father. Rex stood dumbfounded. " So, you change your mind of her again?" Harry asked. ' Dad?" " Yeah?" " Can you teach me how to get more?" " More pecks?" " Yeah!" " Son, follow me. We have much to discuss." Roxy ran up. " I saw thee whole thing." " Yeah, so?" " That was cute." " Yeah, whatever. Did that Tom pull anything?' " No. 'perfect gentleman', as mom would say." " Uh huh. Well, he may think he's won you over, but he's not won yet. I won't let him." " Hey, whether he becomes my boyfriend or not is my decision. I don't need you to protect me." "Rex, I think you'll find Tom's a nice guy if you just get to know him." Harry said. ' Yeah, I'll bet. Hmm, what's that paper?" Rex asked Roxy. ' Oh, Tom and I gave each other our cell numbers. just incase I decide to ask him to take me out again." " Your kidding me." " Looks like I'm winning in this little game called love. But you know, That liz must be tight. she gave hugged you, but I'll bet that was to keep up the miss ' goody two shoes' act. She didn't give you her number." " Maybe your right." As they began walking to the car, they heard their siblings yapping about how they all had their dates numbers, while Rex didn't have Liz's. " Maybe Roxy really is right." He thought. Rex stuck his hand in his pocket. He felt a piece of paper that wasn't there before Liz hugged him. ' My Cell . Just n case. Liz." The note read. " Then again, Roxy's been wrong."

New munks

Liz wants spotlight

And so the time passed. Quickly Friday had come and went. The minister had said he'd be glad to come down and do it. Also, Grandma and Grandpa would be coming, to visit and help out with the wedding. The wedding would be the twenty second. Alvin and Cash thought that would be cutting it close. A wedding was a lot of work. And ,they still had their reunion to distract them. So much had been done already ( the day is Sunday by the way) but still more had to be done. But, then again, this family had pulled together for rush jobs before. They just had to trust that Larry and Raya would be able to handle it for one night. Elsa and Frankie were the planning staff as well, since all had gone well with Vick and Jessica. Since they were close friends, Heather, Jason and Cash were invited, as were cam and company. Of course Xavier, Vinny, Dave, Rebbeca and Andy and Patricia would be there. With the munks as Grooms men and brides maids, With Eleanor as maid of honor and Theodore as best man, the stage was set. " Bye, Roxy!" Tom called. " see you later Tom." The kids were being slick, hiding that anything major was going on. That all the possible couples were just friends. But, the parents all felt something was building, but just hadn't peaked yet. The only real problem for all the 'couples', was well, their crews. Rex, Zack and Jake didn't like the idea of Tom, Tony and Ben being with their sisters and said sisters didn't like the reverse. If all twelve would become friends, everything would be perfect. But, in a world with the new munks and the chip punks trying to merely coexist, that didn't seem to be in the near future. " say, daddy?" Liz asked. " Yes?" " About Jesse's wedding." ' well, speak of the devil. Here comes the happy couple now. Whatever it is, you can ask them." " Hey guys. Thanks for all you've done." Jesse said. " it's not over yet. The ceremony still hasn't come yet." Simon said. " yeah, but, I think all those we have to help can handle it while you guys take a night off tomorrow night.' " yeah. After all you've been through, and still taking time to help us, you deserve it." Juliet said. " Jesse!" Liz called, getting tired of waiting for her turn to talk. ' yes, Liz?" " About your wedding, I'm not dead sure on what the titles are, but one I do know. So, who's going to be the flower girl?" " Well, I was going to have Kathy do it. But, if you want to.. Hmm, Kathy!' ' Yes, Daddy?" " Liz seems to want to be the flower girl, you want to let her?" " If she really wants to." " I do. But, I don't want to steal your thunder." Liz said to the five year old. " Not a problem go ahead. I don't like lots of people looking at me anyways." " Well, you're in luck, cause I love it!" " Oh yeah, she's Britt and Al's daughter alright." Cash said to Kate. Kate covered her mouth to hide the laugh. " Thank you Kathy! Cool, now what does a flower girl do?" " Well, you get this basket full of flowers, and you walk down the aisle and throw them around." " I pelt the audience with flowers? Sounds weird, but ok." ' No. Just around the floor in the aisle. Just toss a small handful with each step, until you get to the end of the aisle." Juliet said. " Do I have to time it?" " hmm, well, why don't you just toss to the left when you step on your let foot and to the right when you step on your right foot?" "Ok. And, how hard do I toss these flowers?" ' It's more like a drop really. Here, let me show you the motion." Juliet said. " So, got that?" " yeah. So, step, grab, drop, and step again? That right?" " Bingo, you got it." " Alright, party peoples, we got to go home now." Alvin said. " Right, see you guys later."

New munks

Reunion: part 1

"Come on Brittany, you've been in there for an hour!" Alvin said, beating on the bath room door. " Alvin, you do want me to look like the trophy wife I am, don't you?" " Of course. I want to make all the guys jealous when they see what I married and had a kid with, but come on, why does it take this long?" " Relax. Keep your shirt on, dear. I'm just putting my make up." " and that'll take another hour." Alvin mumbled. " what was that dear?" " I said I think I'll take a shower." " Well, use the little bathroom attached to our bedroom." " why is it that the master bath and the master bedroom are on the same floor, but aren't attached?" Alvin muttered to himself on the way. " I'll have to talk to Xavier about that." he said to himself. Liz walked out of her room. ' hey daddy." ' hello baby. What have you been doing all evening? You've been in there since dinner." " I was talking to Debbie online." " She still laid up?" " yeah. She got out, but, now there's something wrong with her that she was to embarrassed to talk about." " Did you at least get the name?" " yeah. Um, something Necrosis. What's that mean?" " Uh… hmm.." ' Forget it daddy." " Now hold on, I'm not uncle Simon, but I'm not stupid. I know I heard that before. Hmmm, oh yeah! Wait, oh no." " What? Is it bad?" " Yeah." ' How bad?" " Well, I'm not sure how, but in certain people, certain things cause a really bad allergic reaction." " How bad?" " Well, it's not like uncle Cash when he eats sea food." " So, it's not that bad?" " No, it's worse." " how bad?" " I don't want to scare you, baby." " Come on, I've seen tons of horror movies, even lived some of them, how bad could it possibly scare me?" "Well, if you insist." ' And I do daddy. Tell me!" " Well, when one of those certain people gets exposed to a certain thing, their body has a really bad allergic reaction. The place thy got exposed turns some nasty color and then it starts bleeding. But that's not the worst part." " what's worse than that?" " That's where the necrosis part kicks in. the necro in necrosis means dead. When something has necrosis, it means it's dying.' ' Dying!?" " Yeah. If treated, it won't kill the person. A lot of times they can treat with medicine, especially if the doctors now what the cause of it is. But, in extreme cases, they have to operate and cut the dying parts of the body away." " Ow!' " yeah, I know. How did something so bad happen to her?" " he said. " She said they went camping after she got out and she stepped on a snake and it bit her." " Then, the snake's venom must've done it. Hopefully, they can treat it and don't have to cut anything off." ' O my god! I have to go talk to her. She must be so scared right now!" " just be down stairs in twenty." " but.." " your staying at Grandpa Xavier's. he's got a couple big, powerful computers, remember?' ' Oh yeah. I'll just call her real quick to tell her." ' Sounds like a plan to me." Ten minutes later, he came out of the shower and put on his suit. He was fiddling with his tie when Brittany came in. " Need some help?" " If you'd be so kind." When she spun him around, he noticed she didn't have her dress on yet. Matter of fact, she only had her skivvies on. " What? You've seen me in my underwear before." " Yeah, but, I never get tired of looking at your body." " It'll look better once I have my dress on. It really shows my curves. Now, hold still and I'll tie this for you." Another ten minutes later. " Let's go liz!" Alvin called. Liz bolted out of her room and jumped down to her parents, flying over twelve steps. They looked at her. " What? Let's get going. I told Debbie I'd be online in five to ten minutes and I'm not going to look like a liar.' ' Right, let's get going."


	45. Chapter 45

New munks

Reunion: part 2

" Name?" " Cash And Katrina Seville." Cash told the receptionist. " Alright, go on in." " Hey, there they are!' Jason shouted. Heather still looked like the baby was coming early. Though Katrina was a patient woman, like her husband was a patient man, it was starting to get the best of her. She wanted so badly to ask heather what the deal was, or at least get her to see a doctor, to see if something was happening. " Hey guys." Cash said. " You just drop Tom and Nell off? We didn't see them there when dropped of Liz." Alvin asked. " Yeah, like five minutes ago." " Where's Simon and Theodore?" Katrina asked. " Simon and Jeanette went to get some drinks over there. You can just kind of make them out." Alvin said. " And Theodore and Eleanor?" " Haven't a clue." " I don't think they're here yet." Brittany said. ' Oh, look over there at the entrance. I'd know those green outlines any where." Heather said. As they approached, Eleanor and Theodore seemed to be conversing about something. " Come on Theodore, it's not that big a deal to be the best man. Just ask Jason. He was yours. It's easy."' I don't know Ely." " Ever the worry wart, hey little brother?" Alvin asked. " Oh, you heard that?" " hard not to when you're talking just three feet away from us." " Ely's right, Theo. Being a best man is easy. Besides, the wedding's informal. We'll be in our average, day to day stuff." Cash said. " Our ' civilian clothes', if you will." Simon said. " Hey, Sy." Cash said. " Hey. You want some punch too?" " I can get ours. No sense in you going all the way back over there just for two drinks. I'll be right back." " you were saying Simon?" Eleanor asked. " Right. Theodore, this is the last time we'll be dressed up for a while, I think. The wedding's informal. You know, casual." " It's happening in Larry and Raya's back yard for crying out loud." Alvin said " so relax. Everything's going to be fine." Brittany said. " I guess your right. It's just weird you know? My former girlfriend just comes back into the picture and we also just find out that she's dating one of our friends. Then, to find out they're getting married and then to be asked to be best man. Everything is just going so fast." " story of our lives. Everything we do happens that way." Katrina said. ' hey, look at this way, Theo. Would you rather things like this be happening quickly or a bunch a bad guys be coming after us in rapid succession?" Jeanette asked. ' These things definitely." " Well, there you go." " Personally, I wish we had more of this and less of the fighting. I'm tired of worrying about that group all the time." Simon said. " and yet you still do." Alvin said. " Somebody has to. You, your just devil may care. Theodore would prefer for it to all go away. Cash, well, he cares too much." " As his near nervous break down would indicate." Alvin said. " Exactly. Somebody with a level head has to think things through. Somebody who doesn't care too little or too much." " So your saying, if somebody took or hurt Tony or one of the others, you would only care half as much as the rest of us?" " Of course not! If they took one of the others, I'd be right there, fighting as hard as I could, just like you. And, if it was Tony or Jeanette, let's just say that what dark Simon would do I couldn't be held responsible for." " Simon…" Jeanette said, tears of joy welling up. " Simmer down Sy. I was just saying." " I know Alvin. I just want my position on the whole thing clearly stated. Let me do the worrying." " Uh uh. You saw what happened to Cash when he did enough worrying for all of us. And, he's almost as smart as you. You could slip into that too, if not farther. We'll all worry. But for now, let's party!" Alvin said.

Part three

" There you are." Larry said. " What you doing here? Don't you have a wedding to be planning?" Alvin asked. " Raya, Elsa and Frankie have it in hand. Besides, wouldn't be right for the principal of this graduating class to not be here." " Man has a point." " Where's Cash?" " Over at the drinks table." Cash seemed to sense that he was being talked about, as he turned to look back at them. " His ears must be burning." Eleanor said. " Here he comes." " For you, my dear.' Cash said, handing the punch to Katrina. " Thank you honey." She glanced to Heather. " Okay, I can't take it anymore." ' what?' Heather asked. " Is your baby growing faster than normal? I know it's beyond my station to ask, it's just that you're my friend and I want you and baby ginger to be happy and healthy." ' I understand, Kate. Thanks for your concern. You know, I have been wondering that myself. I told myself, if somebody brought it up too, I'd get an appointment set up the next day and see about it." " Good. Ah, feels good to get that out of my system." " Well well, didn't know if you'd show." A brown haired woman said to Jason. " I frankly don't even know why they let you continue at the school, after your little ' outburst'." The brunette's red haired friend added. " 'sigh' hello Daniela. Hello Donna." Jason said. " Mr. Talbot. Can you explain why he was allowed to come back?" Daniela, the brunette asked. ' Cause he served his time, apologized the whole school, and sought help. He fixed and learned from his mistake." " Yeah sure, whatever." Donna said. " Hey, if you don't like him so much, then just leave!" Heather said. " And heather, you married him and had his kids? Man, you must be messed up too. I can't imagine what your kids are like." " Why you!" " Hey girls?" Cash interjected. ' yes, Cash?" " Let me ask a question. Do you even have stable boyfriends right now? Let alone husbands and kids of your own? Or, did you ' burn yourselves out' a long time ago?" The girls ran off. " Seems I struck a cord." " Thanks man." Jason said. " Hey, I wasn't going to let them rip on you like that. You've changed for the better since then and they, well, I think that little performance explains how their lives panned out." " Always were big pains in the ass. Everybody hated their guts." Brittany said. Her family looked at her. " what? It's the truth." " Well, lets for get that mess." Heather said. " Well, We came to have fun, so lets have some. Right Alvin?" Simon said. Alvin had disappeared. " where did that husband of mine get to?" ' Speaking of husbands, where's mine?" Katrina asked. " Who came to have fun!?" They heard Alvin on the speakers. ' and Alvin has found the microphones." Simon said. " Did you expect him not to? When he says let's party, he means it." Theodore said. " yeah, besides, who can ramp up a party better than us?" Brittany asked. She then joined her husband. " Ah, there she is. my gorgeous wife. Jealous guys?" Alvin cackled. " Hmm, speaking of wives, where's mine?" Cash asked. ' I'm right here.' Katrina said. Simon lead the rest over. " Now, we're going to ask one more time. Who came to have fun!?" Cash shouted. The crowd shouted" us!" " Then let's get it on!" Jason went to the dj stand. " lets see. Ah this ought to work." The song started. Recognizing the beat, Alvin said " perfect. Alright, one two, three, four…" " Well I don't care about history, Rock, rock, rock'n'roll high school, 'Cause that's not where I wanna be, Rock, rock, rock'n'roll high school, I just wanna have some kicks, I just wanna get some chicks, Rock, rock, rock, rock, rock'n'roll high school."

New munks

Reunion: end

Larry was laughing hysterically when they were done. " way to go Jason, that couldn't have been a better choice." He thought. " Jason! Line us up some rolling stones. You know my favorite." Alvin yelled. As the opening riff wound down, Cash counted " Four, three, two, one. Kick it, Alvin." " I can't get no satisfaction, I can't get no satisfaction. 'Cause I try and I try and I try and I try. I can't get no, I can't get no. When I'm drivin' in my car and that man comes on the radio and he's tellin' me more and more about some useless information supposed to fire my imagination. I can't get no, oh no no no. Hey hey hey, that's what I say. " After finishing the song, they too requests. " Sing 'get you goin'" One man in the audience yelled. " Alright!' Brittany yelled. And so they sang one of their greatest hits. " Anything else?" " Diamond Dolls!" " Witch doctor!" " Johnny B. Goode!" one of the old secretaries there yelled. The crowd turned to her. " What? It was really popular when I was younger." " That one we can do." Alvin said. " Cash, you be Johnny. Can somebody get this man a guitar?" One of the staff ran to the music room nearby and returned with an electric guitar and an amplifier. Some ways into the song. ' His mother told him "Someday you will be a man, And you will be the leader of a big old band. Many people coming from miles around, To hear you play your music when the sun go down, Maybe someday your name will be in lights, Saying Johnny B. Goode tonight. Go go, Go Johnny go, Go go, go Johnny go, Go go, go Johnny go, Go go, go Johnny go, Go, Johnny B. Goode!" The secretary clapped the loudest. " Can we have the dj run it now?" Larry asked jokingly. " What Dj? Only guy I see over there is Jason." Alvin said. " Come on, people didn't come for a free show from the chipmunks." " But that's what we want now!" One guy yelled. " Well, guys? Do we give into Larry or our peers?" Cash asked. The others stared for a moment, in 'thought'. " Peers!' They shouted at once. " You heard them, Larry." And so, they sang Diamond dolls, Witch doctor and the Christmas song. " Now, if you want more, you can watch them on TV when they go on their Europe Tour!" Larry said. Now finished, Alvin and Cash were laughing it up. ' I can't believe we just took over the whole party." Cash laughed. ' Hey, we're the chipmunks. What do you expect?" Alvin asked. " Point." Katrina was humming. " Bum bum bedum.' " Your mind's in disturbia, it's like the darkness is the light." Brittany continued. " I'm glad Rihanna agreed to let us use that in our tour." Jeanette said. " I can't believe the music video we did for it." Eleanor said. " How much of that old airstrip did they use for that fake city?" " All of it." " And the costumes made us look like the queens of crazy world." Brittany said. " Hmm, that sounds like reality." " Do you know how tired we were after having to run that thing while you 'chased' us?" cash asked. ' you guys were troopers." Brittany said." Well, seems the party is about done. Do we call it a night? We've got things to do tomorrow." Simon asked. " Sounds good." Alvin said. Later. " So, did the crazy kids I call my loving parents have fun?" Eliza asked. Alvin and Brittany looked at each other and smiled. " What?" " Nothing dear. We had plenty of fun." Brittany said. ' Huh? You guys are weird. Oh man, I hope it's not hereditary." " Oh, it is. Our combined weirdness just hasn't fully kicked in inside you yet." Alvin joked.


	46. Chapter 46

New munks

Quick step

With Christmas only a few days away, Tom was getting anxious to find out what his present was. He had tried many times to sneak down stairs, but it was like Cash and Katrina had a sixth sense about it and would always catch him. But, he figured now was a good time. After all, at seven a.m., nobody in the family was up. The whole Seville clan, he knew, didn't get up before at least 8:30 to 9. So, using the quick step technique Cash had taught him, he tried shooting down the stairs. He passed by his parents room, pausing only to see if Cash was still in there. Seeing no outline under the covers, he checked the bathroom. Sure enough, he heard cash gargling. " Yes! He can't possibly hear me!" Tom stepped away and then shot towards the stairs. He became aware of a black flash whiz past him. Thinking it was a picture frame, he continued. He closed his eyes as he powered towards the steps. " I'm gonna make it!" But, suddenly he became aware that he didn't seem to be going anywhere. He looked. There stood Cash, with his hand on his son's head, holding him in place. " Uh, hi dad." ' Morning son. Care to tell me where your going in such a hurry?" " Um, I'm going to make you and mom breakfast." Cash just looked at his son. ' Not buying it, huh?" " Not even a little.' Katrina came out of their bedroom. " So, what's it this time? Stealth or just pure speed?" She asked. Knowing what the deal was just be instinct. ' A little of both." Tom said. " When did you see me?" " Tom, I'm your dad. If I can't sense when your up to something, then something is wrong with me." " You just sensed it?" " Yup." " Wow, is this some samurai ability I don't know about yet? Or is it some chipmunk power you don't get till your older?" " No. just a father's intuition." Tom snapped his fingers. ' here I was thinking it something cool." " Well, long as I'm up. I might as well get a shower and start breakfast." Katrina said. They heard Helen get up. When she came out of her room, she noted the seen, quickly processed it in her highly developed mind and then asked " Tom make a break for his Christmas present again?' " Yup." " Jeez, am I that obvious?" Tom asked. " We're your family Tom. If we can't read you, we're not doing our jobs." Cash said. " Alright, I'm going to get that shower and then start breakfast." Katrina then wandered off. " Helen?" Cash asked. " I'll be down in time for breakfast. I want to finish the last chapter of Dracula.' " You've read it all by now?" ' Daddy, do you remember how my IQ is?" " Point. Go on then." " So, what about us?" Tom asked his father. " Well, what do you want to do?" " See what my Christmas present is!' " I just finished it last night, after we got home. Christmas is Friday, you can wait." " Drat! Well, I guess train then." " Alright. Go grab your sword and meet me in the.." ' 'dojo'?" " If you want to call it that. I just call it the training room." " Alright, I'll be there in a second." Cash made his way to the room. It was a small, Japanese themed room, just off their den. Often after intense training sessions, Tom and Cash would stagger out of the room, and collapse on the couch in the den. He pulled his training sword off the wall. ( He keeps his actual sword on the mantle in the den. High enough that only he, Kate or somebody of their height can reach it, and only them." Cash sat in hi usual " sensei' posture. Legs tucked underneath him, eyes closed, and sword resting on his lap. Tom entered and assumed the same posture. " Ready?' Cash asked. " Yes." Cash rose up and readied the sword. Tom did the same. " On my mark. Three, two.. One!"

New munks

House of green

Around the usual time for everybody to get, Theodore and Eleanor were up and about. " Come on Ben. Time to get up." Theodore said, shaking his son slightly. " Huh? Oh, morning dad." ' Morning." " So, what are we doing today?' " Well, we don't have anything pressing until twelve. So, what do you want to do?" " Um, well…" Ben never had been good about making up his mind quickly, except when it came to food. " How about we get Olivia up and then we'll ask her?' Theodore asked his son. ' Good idea." Eleanor, meanwhile, was working away on breakfast. " Hmm, hmm, hmm." she hummed. " Want a plane that loops the loop." She sang. " Ow! Man, I need to pay attention to the food when I'm cooking. I love bacon, but I hate it when splashes up. Where's the aloe?" Meanwhile. " So, do we just shake her or do we do something?" Ben asked his father. " Well, shaking her would be polite." " But not as much fun." " your spending to much time around Alvin." "Yeah yeah. So? What do we do?" " I think shaking her is our best bet." " Fine, kill my fun." " yup, way too much time around Alvin." Theodore thought. " you'll have plenty of fun later. Now then." He wandered to his daughter. " Wake up Libby." Theodore said, shaking his daughter. She stirred and mumbled incoherently. Ben sniffed the air. " Mmm, bacon! Let me try dad." He wandered or to his sister. " Libby, mom's preparing bacon for breakfast." He whispered in her ear. " Bacon! Where!?" Olivia shouted as she shot up in her bed. " I figured that would do it." Ben said. " is mom really making bacon?" " Smell the air, sis." " Yup, she definitely is." " So, Libby, we want your input on something." Theodore said. " Yes, daddy?" " Well, we don't have to be around to help set up and make final preparations for Jesse's wedding until about twelve. Ben and I couldn't figure out what to do until then." " I know!" " What?" Ben asked his sister. " Let's go play soccer!" " Isn't it a little cold out for that?" Theodore asked. " We'll wear coats." ' Well, alright." " How about me and Ben vs. you and mom?" " sounds about even." " Alright, but, showers and breakfast first." Theodore said. The kids nodded. Once everybody had showered, Theodore was first down stairs. He saw Eleanor treating her hand. " What happened?" He asked. " Some grease off the bacon got me." " Aw." He said and pulled her hand in and kissed it. " Feel better he asked?" " Yes it does. Thank you sweet heart." "your welcome. Remember when we could fix all the problems the kids had that easily?" " yeah." " I wish we could just find those group guys and take them out once and for all." " So violent, that's not like you, Theodore." " I know. It's just that I'm tired of Libby and Benny being targeted. I'm tired of my kids being hurt because of stuff I did. It's not right. If I ever get my hands on these guys…" " We all feel that way. But, I don't think they'll make it that easy for us. For right now, all we can do is watch over and protect them." ' Yeah, I guess so. That is our job after all." " Yup. Besides, what's the likely hood they would follow us all the way to Europe?" " I don't know. I'm not Simon. I'm not that great with math." " Well, I figure it's really low. I mean, just think of all the places we've had to go for these battles. Matter of fact, the docks, I think, is the farthest we've had to venture from our house. It seems to me that they want to take us down here in Hollywood. Don't know if their just lazy or what, but they seem to keep close to Hollywood. So, I doubt they'd follow us to Europe." " Yeah, your right. Like always, dear." " so, tell me about the plan or today."

New munks

The 'nobels'

Now it was around ten o'clock. Alvin and Brittany were up and around, doing assorted chores around the house while Eliza talked to Debbie more. Meanwhile, Simon was at work in his lab. Wearing his trademark blue shirt and basic pants, along with a white lab coat, he looked like a scientist more than a performer. But, a performer he was, as he couldn't help but start thinking about calling up Eli to run over some things for the synthesizer one more time But, he had more pressing concerns. Like his current experiment. He had Jeanette's help. Tony was online, doing research for his own project. Lately, for some reason unknown to him, Simon had been thinking about the transformation experience. Theo one that shifted them from regular state to 'dark' state. The hairs standing up, or going wild in the girls case, he could account to adrenaline's affect on the body. The increased strength and speed could also be explained by this. And, the trigger was clearly rage. But, how the fangs and claws worked, he had yet to figure out. He thought they could be some genetic throw back to their regular chipmunk ancestors. Matter of fact, he had yet to unravel exactly when the massive genetic alteration that resulted in the evolution from regular chipmunk into what they were now had happened. But, he did know that at some point down the line, they had to have just plain chipmunk ancestors. And, that being the case, the fangs and claws could very well be a throw back. " Perhaps." He said. " Perhaps they are throw backs. Vestigial body parts left over from our evolution. Ones that our bodies have put to use. I guess the laws of being an anthropomorphic chipmunk state that no body part shall go with out a use for very long." " That makes sense." Jeanette sad. " if only we could figure out how they come out." " That's what this experiment is for. It's so simple that I'm afraid to say even a little kid could come up with it." ' Yo, little kid sitting right here!' Tony yelled from he computer nearby. " sorry. Most little kids. I'm sure you'd come up with something better." Simon said, rubbing his son's head. " Give me time. I'll come up with something." Simon nodded. "So, what are we going to do exactly?" Jeanette asked. " Well, I know our claws are up in there somewhere." HE said. "There's no way that the bones of our fingers and teeth just grow into fangs and claws like that and then just turn back to normal. That would be ludicrous. No, I figure that they must be like that already like that. I figure there is some kind of block in there that isn't released until the change takes place. Once the change happens, the blocks release and the bones slide out." " But, wouldn't they have to force their way out? I don't see any exit paths for them built for them." " No, I figure that, in our gums, there a muscles tightened around our canines, the ones that become the fangs. Gums can stretch naturally, so when the signal comes, the muscle in our gums releases and our canines are free to slide into position." " What about our fingers? I see no means of exit in our fingers. If our claws are retractable, should there be at least some lines on our fingers showing where they come out?" " I have a theory there too." ' Do tell, my love." Jeanette said. ' I believe they are there, they're just to small to be seen. So, I'm hoping my experiment will show us where these lines are." ' What do we do? " 'basically, we're going to put one of our fingers under the microscope and push up on the bone, to see if we can't force out the claw inside just a bit." " Sounds simple enough that just has to work." " That's what I'm praying will be the case."


	47. Chapter 47

New munks

preparations

" Sorry we're late." Simon said. He, Jeanette and Tony had just arrived at Larry's in order to help set up for the wedding tomorrow. However ,they were ten minutes later than everyone else. " Not a problem. But, what were you doing exactly?" Larry asked. Alvin began to snicker. " Shut up Alvin." Cash said. " I didn't say anything." " You were thinking it." " Man, you used to be fun, what happened?" " There's a time and place for everything. Right now, we've got work to do." Cash said. " But, seriously, what were you doing?" Alvin asked. " We were conducting an experiment." Alvin prepared to say something but Cash shot him a 'shut it' look. " Uh, what did it involve?" Alvin asked. " We were trying to unravel some of the secrets of our transformation into the dark munks. We started by using microscopes on our fingers to see if, when we pushed on the bone, if we could make the claw come out. I could give you the details if you want. All my theories, the results.." Simon?" ' Yes Alvin?" " As amazing as this all sound, Cash was right. We do have work to do. So, how about you save all the scientific mumbo-jumbo for the plane ride to Europe? It's a long trip, even by air. We could use it to kill time." " I see." Simon said. " Hey, it's not that we don't want to hear it. I have a feeling that understanding it a bit better would make us feel better about using it." Brittany said. " I doubt it will once we have to use it again. Once we have blood on our claws again." Theodore said. The group looked down. " Look at it this way." Tom said, turning on his ' pep talk' voice. " With this power, your like super heroes.!" The parents still looked kind of down. " okay, that wasn't very good. Um…. I know. Blood or no blood, claws or no claws, you use that power, it doesn't use you. Your in control. And, even though it's a dark power, it's main purpose to protect those you love. So long as you use it for that end, it will never be a bad thing to keep it on stand by." The parents nodded. ' Where do you pull that stuff from?" Alvin asked. " I don't know. It just kind of comes to me." ' Conditional genius, just like your dad." " I guess." " Well, shall we get to work?' Jeanette asked." Let's." After a little while, the set was complete. It really was simple. What few guests there would be, there was just one section to seat the audience. It had three rows, with about three chairs in each row. Eliza was going to the flower girl and Ben was the ring bearer. " Well, now what? Even with setting up the tables, chairs and decorating the place a little, that only took, what? Ten minutes?" Alvin asked. " Well, how about we rehearse it?" Jesse asked. ' Well, alright, but, who's going to be the minister?" " I think I can stand in." Xavier said. So, for an hour they went about practicing. After which, they had run out of ideas. " well, I guess we go home now?" Alvin asked. " We could take the kids out somewhere." cash said. " where?" " Park?' " Why not? Let them around and practice their soccer drills." And so they did. After this, they settled in back in their homes. A rather boring end, to a rather boring day. But, Tomorrow would have more excitement. And, there was still Christmas to ready for. Thank fully, all presents were bought and wrapped. The moms had found time to do this, somehow, during what down time they had right now. Now, it was time to just kick back and relax until tomorrow. Alvin had to admit to himself, he couldn't wait until Christmas. Christmas was always active. But, he really wanted to be on the tour right now. With the hectic schedule for that, his need for some excitement would be filled, hopefully.

New munks

Wedding at the were-wolf's

" So, ready Theodore?" Eleanor asked. They were standing at the edge of the aisle, waiting to walk down and take their positions as best man and maid of honor. This time around, though they normally did these things the opposite way, they were trying to make this as close to how a wedding should be as possible. That meant, instead of going down directly after the groom like they normally would, they followed tradition and waited for the other munks to take their positions." Yeah. As I'll ever be." once everyone was in position, Juliet stood at the end of the aisle. Her father had flown in for this. Theodore looked to Eleanor and then had a flash back to his own wedding to her. How beautiful she looked. How happy she was to be walking down the aisle, accompanied by Xavier. How much her eyes lit up when she got with in ear shot of him. And finally, how many tears of joy filled her eyes when they said I do. He could only hope Juliet and Jesse would have the same experience. He noticed Jesse gulp. " Hey." He said to him. " It's alright. This is a lot easier than it seems. Remember, I've gone through this too. Trust me, once the reverend gets his rhythm, you'll be saying I do and kissing her in no time. And once that's going on, you'll forget why you were ever nervous." " thanks Theodore." " Not a problem. Oh, here we go." Ben began to trek the aisle, with the rings set on the pillow. Theodore smiled, so proud of how responsibly his son was taking his duties. Once he reached the alter, he stood just in front of the minister at the alter and had his parents take the rings. Theodore held the ring that Jesse would put on Juliet and Eleanor, as was tradition, placed Juliet's ring for Jesse on her thumb. Once that was done, Ben took his position with the rest of the grooms men and stood just in front of Theodore. Eliza, performing her flower girl duties, then went down the aisle ahead of Juliet, scattering the flower petals. Once she hit the end, she turned and went to stand in front of Brittany. Finally, Juliet took up her father's arm and walked down the aisle. Jason hit the button for the small speakers to start playing here comes the bride. Cash looked at Jesse. " He's sweating bullets. I don't know why." He thought. He looked to Vinny in the audience, and nodded towards Jesse. When Vinny noticed how nervous Jesse looked, she mouthed ' you looked the same way.' to her son. Finally, the minister began. " Let us bow our heads for a moment of prayer." The crowd did as instructed. " Our heavenly father, we ask you to be with us today. We thank you for the beautiful day you have given us. We thank you for bringing us together today. And, most of all, we thank you for the love of these two young souls. We ask that you be with them. Go with them, guide them, and help them to do what is right. To always do what you would have them to do. We ask in thy name, amen." " Amen." And with that, the minister got into his rhythm and began the ceremony. It came time for Theodore and Eleanor to give up the rings, which they did with enormous smiles. Finally, the all important question, the only part of the process any body really comes to hear, came. The reverend asked Jesse first. " I do." he said. " And you, Juliet, take Jesse to be your lawfully wedded husband? To love, honor, and obey him, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do you part?" ' I do." " Then, by the power invested in me by the almighty God, I know pronounce you man and wife, you may kiss your bride." And that sealed the deal. Later, following of his duties, Theo prepared to pay the minister. " no, no. I don't charge for one of God's sacred rituals." 


	48. Chapter 48

New munks

Got to find out

' I will find out what it is today!" Tom thought. Today, just a day and a half till Christmas eve, he was determined to find his present. He had a plan that, after he thought of it, he had to kick himself. He thought he could probably get Helen to read their dad's mind of what it was. " No way Tom." " Come on Nell." ' no way. Besides, you know how I look when I use my powers. I get the blank, distant look on my face. And, dad knows that look." " yeah, but he wouldn't notice if you tired it while you were behind him." " Forget it Tom.' " Come on Nell. You're my little sister. Help your brother out." " No." " why?' ' Cause I promised mom and dad I wouldn't." " Aw man." " Them's the breaks. Sorry, big brother." Tom cursed his bad luck. He was not known for his patience. If one need proof, you only needed to ask Cash. Cash, though thinking very quickly on his feet, both in out of battle, was also very calculating. His son, meanwhile, was a 'shoot first, and ask questions later' kind of guy. When asked about this difference, when everything else about Tom was a near copy of Cash, Cash reported that he was very ' brash' when he was Tom's age. He said that fully going through the training, and fought lots of villains, with Agito had forced his mind to ' evolve' into what it was today. He said that once he was done training Tom, and once Tom had fought some more villains, Tom's mind would sharpen as Cash's had. But, for right now, he was the new Alvin, not the new Cash. And, being the new Alvin, meant it was killing him not to know what his present was ahead of time. after an hour of thinking, he was drawing a blank. He had tried his speed, he had tried stealth, he had even tried using Helen's powers, and turned up nothing. There had to be somebody who'd tell him.." Uncle Theodore and Aunt Eleanor? No. They probably don't know what it is either. Uncle Simon and Aunt Jeanette? Maybe, but I doubt I could get it out of them. So, that leaves…. Uncle Alvin and Aunt Brittany!" He formulated a small, not really thought out plan. " Dad!" " Yes Tom?" " I'm going to Uncle Alvin's." " Why?" " Because I want to." " That's it?" " Haven't you ever done things just because the mood struck you?" " Point. Go on then." Once Tom was gone, Cash thought ' He'll never get it out of Alvin either." Later. " no, sorry bud." ' Oh come on Uncle Alvin." " nope, sorry." ' aunt Brittany?" " Sorry. I have no clue what cash has been up to. I know about as much as you." "Oh man." " Sorry buddy, you just going to have to wait." " But I can't." ' Ha, I knew I was better. I'm being patient to find out what mom and dad got me." " Shut up Liz." " Make me." " Now now you two, no fighting." " Okay mom." ' Okay aunt Brittany." " Hey, Tom. I know what your going through. I couldn't wait to find out either. But, patience on Christmas eve is something Dave beat into my head. Matter of fact, he almost had to literally beat it into me, cause I wouldn't listen. I know it's hard, but you've only got another day, you'll make it. " " I guess So. Well, bye." " See ya." " Well, that was close." " I know, I almost spilled it a few times." 'Yeah, I could barely stand it either." " What is Cash been making him anyways?" "A.. oh, Liz, why don't you go see how Debbie's doing?" 'Well, I'd like to hear this." ' You'll find out soon enough, just like Tom." " Well, alright." ' now, what has he been making? I know it's something that's traditional from the Ikebana's.' " It's a sword. Forged, formed, everything by hand, just like Agito did for him." " Wow. We'd best pack ear plugs.' " Why?" ' Cause, once tom's got his hands on it, he'll be screaming loud enough to wake the dead." 

New munks

Christmas with the munks

Having no luck, Tom had given up. He guessed he would just have to wait until that Friday, Christmas eve, when they would open presents, to find out. However, once he had done this, he had found that time moved rather quickly. Now, it was Christmas eve and everyone had gathered at Xavier's. That included Jesse, Juliet and Kathleen. They had decided not to go on their honey moon until after Christmas. " So, Jason, have made up your mind?" Cash asked. " Well, if your sure you can take care of him." " Jason, you know we wouldn't dare let anything happen to Cash. if anything was to happen, we'd be there immediately. Besides, he can take care of your job while he's with us." " Right. Well, what do you say Heather?" " As long as he's being watched by somebody at pretty much all times, I don't mind. Try to keep him with one of you who doesn't have two other kids to take care of." ' like Simon and Jeanette?" " Exactly." " Simon! Jeanette!' " Yes Cash? We're just about set up to open presents." ' Well, that's good, but not why I called you. Would you mind looking after Cash for Heather and Jason, while he's on tour with us?" "We don't mind at all. We'll take care of him like he's own son. He'll be treat just like Tony." " Okay. Well, if they're the ones taking care of him, let him go." " Okay, and, we'll set up some equipment for him to be able to contact you and you can send him pictures over the net, incase we're still gone when Ginger is born." " Sounds good to me." Later on, all the presents, except for one group, had been opened. Xavier retreated upstairs and fetched them. " Eliza, Tony, Olivia, come here.' Once they had gathered, he opened the box. " In recognition of your skills and courage in a fight, we give you these. Actual, legitimate , Sai, Tonfa and staff. Just like your father's, they have been prescreened and cleared to travel with you to Europe. So, go on and take them." The kids took them and immediately sought to practice a little with their fathers. " Maybe later." They said. Tom looked disappointed. E was hoping to get a weapon too. But, Xavier told him ' Sorry Tom, no sword here for you." But, unbeknownst to Tom, Xavier shot a signal a look to Cash as a signal. Cash went up stairs and retrieved the sword had spent so long making. When he came down, he hid behind his back. " Tom, sit in the Japanese style and close your eye and stick out hands, palms up." Cash said. Tom didn't understand this, but complied. Cash then sat the same way and placed it in Tom's hands. " Open you eyes." When Tom did, his eyes became huge.' My own?!" ' Yup. Spent Three years making it, just Agito did for me. It's got everything mine does. A blade with an infusion of Silver, Larry.." ' Whatever.' Larry said. " A white oak handle, with black cloth wrapped around it for better grip. And, All the same runes that are on mine." " So Cool!" " Now, Tom, Listen. This is big.. You know the old spider-man saying ' with great power, comes great responsibility.' well, I've given a power that is just like mine, but, it your job to wield it properly. Matter of fact, all of you remember that." Cash's nieces and nephew nodded. " Don't ever lose it or let anyone take it." " I understand. Cause it took so long to make?" " Well, that and the fact that it's more than just a sword. Agito told me once ' since I have spent so much time preparing this for you, it has become a symbol. It is the symbol of our bond as father and son.' remember that." " I swear I won't forget and I won't lose it.. Um, so, now can I learn the twelve minutes attack, or how to do Laido?" ' Laido, probably. Twelve minutes, we'll see." " Thanks dad." " Your welcome, son."


	49. Chapter 49

New munks

Off to see the world

" Okay, that's my, Jeanette's, Tony's and Cash's stuff all loaded." Simon said. Today, they would be leaving for Europe. " Okay. Say, where's Brittany and Alvin?" Dave asked. ' Over there, talking with Heather and Jason. We've all been trying for the last five minutes to get them to let go of Cash and let him get on the plane." " Oh, well, they're giving him hugs, so I guess it's a go." ' I guess so." " Think you can handle two kids, Simon?" " Dave, you handled four crazy boys for a number of years, what makes you think I can't handle two?" " You have a point. And, are you including yourself in that crazy comment?" " Well, considering the things I let myself get talked into, yeah, I think am I including myself." Dave smiled. Becoming a father meant Simon had developed his since of humor more. If he didn't, well, he would be a dull dad. His since of modesty had also grown. " Well, Cash, you ready?" Dave asked as Alvin and Brittany walked him over. ' As I'll ever be." " Don't worry Cash. We've loaded this jet with every single safety device and precaution we could think of. We've even got safety devices to pick up the slack should any of the original fail. I believe the only way that this plane could come falling out of the sky is if we were hit by a missile." Simon said. " what about the engines? What if ducks or something get sucked in there?" ' We have specially made protective screens in place that prevent that." " You thought of everything." " We sure did. Now, let's get on the plane." " Where's that daughter of ours?' Alvin asked. ' Over there, fighting with tom about who gets the biggest seat." Dave said. ' Has anyone burst their bubble and told them that the whole jet is basically a flying lounge? And that there really aren't any seats, other than the lounge couches?" " I guess not." " 'sigh' I'll do it." Brittany said. She walked over to the kids. " Mom! Tell Tom I get the biggest seat!' " No way! Aunt Brittany, tell Liz I get the biggest seat!" " Why should you?" " I got the sword! The man with the sword is leader! And the leader gets the biggest seat!" " your wrong. Who ever has the sai is leader an, in our case, that would be me. So, I get the big seat!" " GUYS!" Brittany yelled. The kids looked to her. " hate to burst your bubble, but, there are couches, not seats. Yes, they have seat belts for when we're taking off and landing, or when we need them, but, other wise, there really aren't any seats in the traditional sense." " Then, I get the biggest couch!" Eliza yelled. ' All the couches are the same size!" " Oh, well, then all our fighting.." " Was for nothing. That's right. Now, kiss and make up and let's get on that plane." " I am not kissing Tom!" Eliza said, then turned on her heel and walked off. Cash came walking up, in attempt to stop his son before he did anything that caused more fighting. He simply huffed and followed his cousin on board. " That remind you of any body?" Cash asked his sister-in-law. " Not anymore. We aren't like that any more." ' See. I was right all those years ago. You and Alvin were tailor made for each other." " So were you and Katrina." " Can't argue with that." " Hey, Cash, Brittany, are you getting onto this or do we send it back for you!?" Todd joked. " We're coming." " Alright, everybody strap in. Once we're at cruising altitude, the pilots will let us know." Simon said. " Thanks for telling us what we already know, captain obvious." Alvin said. " I said that for the kids, Alvin." " you know, Jeanette, it bugs the heck out of me when I see Tony and tom get along and then see Alvin and Simon like this.' Eleanor said.

New munks

The 'brains' findings

" Ladies and gentlemen, we are at cruising altitude and you are free to move about the cabin.' A pilot said. " thank god! I got some major dry mouth. Got to get a drink!" Alvin said. " Brittany, you want one?" "Is the mountain dew restocked?" " Yes and it's cold enough to freeze your fingers." " Sounds great. Get me one then, would you?' ' My pleasure. Eliza?' " I don't really need pop. any bottled water?" " Right here." " Then, may I have one?' " Yes you may." " Look at Alvin." Eleanor said to Theodore. " Yeah. Who would have figured Alvin to be dad material?" Theodore asked. " I did! That's why I had Eliza with him." Brittany said. " Easy Brittany. We were just talking about how he used to be." Eleanor said. " Well, would every body stop doing that?! Alvin and I changed especially for Eliza." ' She has a point. It's not fair to keep bringing it up. We're sorry Brittany." Cash said. " Thank you." ' have I told you I love you mom?" Eliza asked. " not yet." " Well, I really do. Especially after that." " Hey, nobody is going make me and Alvin look like bad parents. We love you too much for that." " well, um, shall we forget that and move on to a more pleasant topic?" Cash asked. " let's." Brittany said. " well, anybody got anything good to share?" Alvin asked. " Um, well, it's not pleasant, but, it's a good topic." Simon said. " What?" Theodore asked. " The dark munks." " oh, yeah, those monsters you turned into in order to beat up those to kidnappers that we're going to shoot us?" Tom asked. ' please don't remind us of that last bit." Katrina said. " But, yes, that's what were talking about." " well, you said you and Jeanette conducted some experiments, did you find out anything?" Alvin asked. " Well, I figure there must be a block in our gums and fingers that prevent the fangs and claws from coming out until the change happens." " Why do you say that?" Eleanor asked." because, no matter how hard we tried, we couldn't get them to come out with out the change"" So, we can't make them come out with out somebody pissing us off?" Alvin asked. " that's about it." Simon said. " Well, that lead us no where." Alvin said. " I'm not done, Alvin." " Well then, out with it Sy." " Right. See, I was talking with Les during the thanksgiving dinner and told him if he ever came across anything from the twee-twee tribe, you know, the ancient tribe of chipmunks?" ' The ones we found out about during that archaeological dig in Mexico when we were kids?" " Yes. Well, I told him if he ever found anything from them, let me know." " and?" " Well, if Justine deciphered these twee-twee tablets they found correctly, we aren't the first with this ability." " Go on." ' Well, everything about it is steeped in tribe mythology." " anything's good right now." " Well, according to the tablets, there were others who had this ability. The tribe believed them to be chosen by the gods, were given this power by those gods and they were destined to be the protectors of the village as a result." " Simon, look around. Doesn't it seem that history is repeating itself?' " well, I have to admit, there are lots of similarities. But, there's one big difference." " And that would be?" " Well, according to the tablets, those who didn't have this power, became jealous of those who did. A great war sprung up and those with the power were nearly wiped out. But, a single group of about eight, just like us, proved to be strong enough to survive and became the kings and queens after the war. We haven't done that. We haven't had a war." " yes we have. We're not fighting other chipmunks, but we've fought wars with that power, just like they did in the old days." ' You have a point, Alvin."

New munks

Sing them to sleep

After taking in everything Simon had told them, the munks continued to move bout the cabin. " Hey, Cash, Alvin, Theodore, look at this." Simon said, pulling up a picture on his laptop. " What is it?" " an image of the group that survived the war. Look familiar?" " They look like us." " Yup. I guess what you said, Alvin, is true. History is repeating itself." " How long does it say they ruled?" ' Um… if Justine got it right, they ruled from the time they were nineteen till the ripe old age of eighty-eight." " Wow. That's a long time." Theodore said. " Well, if we're the new kings and the girls and new queens, and the kids are the new princes and princesses and what not, I say we try and break our predecessors record, what do you say guys? I say we shoot for ninety." Cash said. " We're with you." Alvin said. Later they came to a point were the kids started experiencing their first case of jet lag " Huh, normally it doesn't hit you until you land." Alvin said. " well, this is their first international trip. Lots of things are going to happen to them." Cash said. " yeah, let's get them into the our little bunkers and let them sleep till we land." ' Yeah." Jeanette carried Tony to the little compartment that she, Simon, Tony and Cash would sleep in on their over night flights. Cash was watching an in-flight movie with Andy, Todd and Dave, like jet lag was nothing to him. She laid him down to sleep a bit. Brittany had about the same luck with Eliza. Ben and Olivia need drinks of water before hand and then they were out, but, Tom and Helen were a different story. They wanted a story, or a song or something to listen to until the fell asleep. " alright, hang on. Andy!' Cash called. ' Tell me what I miss." Andy said. Cash had a plan. Andy had brought along a family heirloom of sorts. It was his guitar, that he inherited from his father. He had almost forgotten about it. He had never really used it, but he knew his way around that old sunburst les Paul guitar. " Yes, I know the beat." Andy said. " Alright, let's do it." Cash said. The entered the small room. Okay, I've got a song for you." Cash told his kids. " What's it about?" Tom asked. "A cowboy and some ghosts." " Sounds good." " Alright, Andy…" Andy began to strum the guitar. Patricia had to come watch. " An old cowboy went riding out, one dark and windy day, upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way, when all at once, a mighty heard of red eyed cows he saw, plowing through the ragged sky, and up a cloudy draw. Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel, their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel, a bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky, and he saw the riders coming hard and he heard their mournful cry. Yippie-yi-ya, yippie-yi-yo, the ghost riders in the sky." Cash sang, in the most gentle tone he could, trying to coax them into sleep. " Better keep singing." He thought. " Their faces gaunt, their eyes were blurred, their shirts all soaked in sweat, he's riding hard to catch the heard, but he ain't caught them yet cause they got to ride forever on that range up in the sky, on horses snorting fire, as they ride on hear their cry. Yippie-yi-ya, yippie-yi-yo, the ghost riders in the sky." Helen looked about ready and Tom's eyes looked very heavy. ' I'll finish it to finish them." Cash thought. " As the riders rode on by him, he heard one call his name. If you want to save soul from heck, a-riding on our range, then cowboy change your ways today or with us you will ride, trying to catch the devil's herd, across these endless skies." And, the kids were out. ' old country, especially Johnny Cash, gets them every time."


	50. Chapter 50

New munks

Kicking off in London

After a time, they parents woke the kids. They had landed. ' Welcome, guys, we are officially in London." Todd said. Immediately, Tom, who never really was any good at geography, said " Let's go see the arc d'triumph." " Uh, Tom, the arc d'triumph is in France.' Tony said." Um, Buckingham palace?" " Yes, that's here." ' Then let's go!" " Easy guys. We still got to check in at the hotel." Dave said. " Hotel? But, We got this big old plane." " Yeah, but, let's face it, sleeping on it isn't that great. Besides, the concert isn't until tomorrow." " Well, your right. So, I guess we sight see today, concert tomorrow and leave the day after?" Tom asked. " That's right, you got it." " Well, come on! Let's hurry so we can go sight seeing." Cash laughed to himself. Dave caught it. " Did you like sight seeing this much when you were a kid?" " Well, kind of. There were certain things I wanted to see and others I didn't. Most of the things I wanted to see were major tourist attractions anyways." After checking in, the asked Andy to serve as tour guide, since he was back in his home town. " there's my old house." He said as they drove down a street. " Nice place." Alvin said. ' Now you see why we had to move to the states. Keeping that place going after my father died was breaking us. So many pounds a month. It was ridiculous." " You could move back now. You must have enough money for it by now." Theodore said. " I couldn't. I've grown too attached to your kids." " Yeah, they have a tendency to grow on you." Alvin said, rubbing Eliza's head. As they rolled past an old car garage, Andy simply stared. " Something wrong Andy?" Eleanor asked. " That garage.." " What about it?" " that's where I always met her." " Who?" " Huh? Oh, nobody. Just random memories blurring together." " You're a little young to have a senior moment Andy." Brittany said. " That's true." " Is there anything special about that garage?" " Well, it was where I held my first job. Got paid, I think, six pounds an hour." " Uh.." Theodore said. " About 11.88 an hour, Theodore." Simon said. " Oh. Well, how long did you work?' " You know the old saying ' working 9 to 5'." " let's see, that would be $95.04 a day?" " Yup. 48 pounds a day. Multiply by five." ' 240 pounds a week. That makes… $475.20 a week!" Simon said. ' but, that was all we had once dad died." ' how much did the place cost a month?" " about a hundred thousand pounds. Not mentioning utilities and food." ' Yeah, we can see where it was breaking you." Alvin said. Andy continued to stare as they drove past. Cash figured there was something he wasn't telling them. " Andy, is there anything else you'd like to tell us?" ' No. Nothing." Cash knew he was lying. Cash could pick up these things. But, he didn't push it. If Andy didn't want to say anything, so be it. They turned down a specific street, headed for a restaurant Andy highly recommended. " Can we go the other way?' Andy asked. " But, this is the quickest route." The driver of the insanely large limo said. ' Please." " Well…" " Go ahead. Take the long way." Cash said. " Yes sir." " Okay, Andy, fess up. What was that about?" Alvin asked. " That's where she lived." " she? She who?" Brittany asked. " You mentioned a she back at the garage. Is that the same she?" Eleanor asked. " yes." ' Who is she? An old girlfriend?" Alvin pressed. " Kind of. Not exactly girlfriend. Never got the chance to be." " what do you mean?" Theodore asked. " I don't want to bum you out when your supposed to be relaxing." " Not knowing is going to stress us more than knowing." " Go on, Andy. It's alright." Patricia encouraged. " Her name was Kirsty Neal."

New munks

Whiskey lullaby

" Kirsty lived on that street. She and I went to school together. We had known each other since kindergarten. She was always such a sweet girl. Did everything asked of her and would go out of her way to help others." " Sounds like somebody we know." Alvin said looking at Cash. " Let the man talk Alvin. It's hard enough on him with out you butting in. You can make comparisons later." Simon said. " Okay, sorry. Continue Andy." " Well, Around the sixth grade, I really hit my stride in the liking girls department." " Puberty is a heck of a thing." Alvin joked. ' Alvin!" Dave said. " Okay okay. I'll be quiet. Man, kill a guy for trying to lighten the mood." " I think your funny dad." Eliza said. " Thanks honey." " Well, once that happened, I got really into Kirsty. I hung out with her at any chance I could get." " Checking out the goods?" Alvin asked. " Alvin!" Dave said." No, he's right. I was. She had an amazing body. And, what's more, she trust me enough to tell me her measurements. She hit puberty at 13. At age fourteen, she had ballooned into the c cups." "Man, that was fast." Alvin said. " Yup. Just one year. But, she always grew fast. Even when we were kids, she was always about three inches taller than me. I only caught up once I hit 13 too and started getting growth spurts." " Go on." " Well, by my fourteenth birthday, I knew I wanted her. I was even willing to give up going into the corps if it meant that I could one day settle down with her." " Talk about being love struck." Theodore said. " But, it was not meant to be." ' What happened?" " well, around when she was fourteen and a half, her parents went through a nasty part in their marriage. They ended up divorcing. Thing was, they still cared about each other, it was just their pride kept getting in the way of making up." " Pride is a hell of a thing." Cash said. " so is whiskey." ' Huh?" " That's what Kristy's mom and dad drank in order to dull their feelings for each other, just for the sake of their pride. One day, it got to be too much for them." " What happened?" " Ever hear the song whiskey lullaby by brad paisley?" ' No. ' " I'll sing it for you." " Go ahead." " She put him out like the burnin' end of a midnight cigarette. She broke his heart he spent his whole life tryin' to forget. We watched him drink his pain away a little at a time. But he never could get drunk enough to get her off his mind. Until the night. He put that bottle to his head and pulled the trigger. And finally drank away her memory. Life is short but this time it was bigger. Than the strength he had to get up off his knees. We found him with his face down in the pillow. With a note that said I'll love her till I die. And when we buried him beneath the willow. The angels sang a whiskey lullaby." " Whoa, he killed himself?" Andy nodded. " I'm not done. It was a shorter time than the song but.." ' The rumors flew but nobody know how much she blamed herself. For years and years she tried to hide the whiskey on her breath. She finally drank her pain away a little at a time. But she never could get drunk enough to get him off her mind. Until the night. She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger. And finally drank away his memory. Life is short but this time it was bigger. Than the strength she had to get up off her knees. We found her with her face down in the pillow. Clinging to his picture for dear life. We laid her next to him beneath the willow. While the angels sang a whiskey lullaby." " They both killed themselves?!" " Yes." ' What happened to Kirsty?"

New munks

The tape

" She was always a frail girl." " What do you mean?" Simon asked. " Once she realized both her parent were gone, taken away by the monsters of pride, anger, and whiskey, she couldn't stand it. She had never thought of life with out them. She stood firm in believing they would get back together and everything would be fine. " And, her parent's suicides shattered that fantasy? Brought the cold truth to bear?" Simon asked. " Yes. It destroyed her. Destroyed her whole out look on life. She couldn't handle the reality. She became manic depressive very quickly. She started taking risks, where she never would have before." " what kind of risks?' " Narrowly avoiding cars in the street. Performing stunts like jumping off the roof of her house. Just complete chaos." " Whoa, and we thought Jack Franklin killing himself over losing to us was bad. Least he ended it fast. She toyed with her life." Simon said. " Exactly. I tired constantly to console. No avail. I consulted mum, she couldn't think of anything I hadn't tried already. So, we came to realize that maybe, if I told her how deeply I loved her, it may snap her back to her senses." " And?" " I never got the chance. The day I was going to tell her I loved her, I got word she had killed herself as well. Took a bunch of sleeping pills and then just laid down to die." " Man…" was all Alvin could muster. Eliza, Helen and Olivia were pushing into their mothers. The boys hung their heads. Only the men in the car seemed to be to stomach much more. " But, the worst part was that the police found a note next to here, with a tape.' ' What did the note say? ' I know it is wrong, but I can not stand this world with out my parents. I must go join them where ever they have gone. I hope we can be together once I have done this. I have made a tape. Please give it to my closest friend, Adrian McNab." " She wanted to join her parents…' Alvin said. " But, suicides go to…" Theodore said. Andy nodded. " But, the worst part was what was on the tape. That's what still stabs at my heart to this day." ' What did it say?" Jeanette asked. " Hello Andy. If your watching this, I must be dead. I'm sorry Andy, but I can't take it. I need them. Please, understand. I must be with them and I can only be there in death. But, I want you to know something. I know you love me. Not sure how, I just do. And, I love you too. I'm sorry I never told you. I've loved you since Kindergarten. First as a friend, then later like a brother and then, before the divorce… you were all I could think about. I know I'm not going to make it to the kingdom in the sky like I know you are, but, I beg you, continue to live. Thrive Andy. Don't ever do anything for others that you know I wouldn't. Be kind to all souls. For your sake and my own. Maybe asking this of you redeems me some how. I beg you. You know how I always wanted to help people all over the world. Please, live my dream for me in any way you can. Live yours of going into the marines and live mine too. Use each dream to help the other. As for me, I can not take the pain anymore. I know it's giving up all that. But, I know you will do as I ask. And, to prove how I love you, I've signed my note and this tape.. Kirsty McNab. I'm sorry Andy. I love you, my dear. Goodbye Andy." "Holy Shit!" Alvin cried. " That's just messed up." ' I guess that love just wasn't strong enough to save her. That was the second person I couldn't save." "and so now, you do everything you can, to save all you can." Cash said. " Exactly."


	51. Chapter 51

New munks

What would you do?

None of the munks had any clue what to do about what Andy had just said. Nothing that came to mind made sense. They couldn't think of anything to do that seemed like it would work. The girls finally decided to hug Andy. " We're sorry we made you relive that." Eleanor said. " Nothing you can do. What's done is done, right?" " Yeah." " I would give anything for her back, but, at least I'm doing what she wanted me to. And, I've grown to want to do it for myself, as well as her." " That's good." " So, this is the place?" Alvin asked. ' that's it." After a silent dinner, Dave and Todd went off to check on the preparations for tomorrow night's concert. Vinny and Xavier went back to the hotel to enjoy the hot tub and pool. The munks took their kids and went off to different portions of the city. Katrina stood and watched as Helen ran around the large park they had stumbled onto. Cash was attempting to teach Tom the art of meditation. She heard her husband tell her son that through meditation, he could learn to control the flow of energy in his body, channel it properly, and thus make him self faster and faster, until he was fast enough to do laido. Helen eventually returned to her mother. ' Are my books in here?" She asked, opening a bag next to her mother. " Yes dear."" Good." Helen pulled out a huge book and cracked it open. " What is that?" Katrina asked her mini-me daughter. " Advanced chemistry." " Advanced?!" " Well of course, I've already read and memorized all of the regular edition." " Man, I don't know what crazy experiment got done to me, with me knowing it, while I was pregnant with you, but.." " Your glad I'm super smart, right?" " Of course. I just don't understand how. Your dad and I aren't super smart, but we're not dumb either. I could understand if you were Jeanette and Simon's, but.." ' Your plenty smart mom. I got all the brains you and dad have. Remember, your not dead even with them in the brains department, but, your almost as smart as Uncle or aunt Jeanette." ' So, all our dormant intelligence was gathered and put in your head." " That's about the size of it." Helen smiled. Katrina loved it when her little girl was happy. ' I love you honey." "I love you more, mom." Katrina let her daughter go back to the huge book. She looked at Cash. " Poor Andy. Losing his true love like that. I just thank God everyday for giving and keeping Cash with me, and I pray it stays like that." she thought. Cash, almost sensing that Katrina was thinking about him, snapped his eyes open and then winked to her. Quickly glancing to Tom, and making sure he had no clue he was going to move, Cash maneuvered to his wife. " Thinking about me?" He asked. " How'd you guess?" " My ears started burning." " Just from thinking about you?" " yup. They're that sensitive." Katrina smiled. " Cash?" " Yes?" " if I died, what you do?" " Go crazy." " What?" " Not kill myself crazy if that's what your thinking. But, crazy as in get myself locked up in the mental ward.' ' I see." " What about you? If I died?" " I told you that when we were dating. Remember? The first time we went to your dad's grave." " Oh yeah. " if you ever die on me, I'll drag your spirit back the after life, just so I can pummel you for leaving me.' right?' " You never forget do you?" " Not often." " Yeah, I guess that's what I said, and I still mean it, you hear me Mr. Seville?" " Loud and clear, Mrs. Seville." Cash drew close to kate. ' I love you, Cash. don't ever die on me, okay?" " And you do the same for me.' ' Right." " I love you." ' I love you too." Helen, knowing what was coming, buried her head in the book. " I'm not going to watch my parents kissing."

New munks

Born to be

After a while, everybody returned to the hotel. Alvin called the other guys, excluding Xavier, who was fast asleep in his and Vinny's room and Dave and Todd, still going over details. " So, what did you call us for Alvin?" Simon asked. " I can't ask my brothers down to just sit around and have coffee?" " We know you Alvin. What hair brained scheme do you have now?" " Honestly, no plan at all. I just wanted to talk with you guys. You know, we never just talk any more. It's always battle tactics or tour stuff. We never just talk like brothers should." " Man has a point." Cash said. " so, what do you want to talk about?" Theodore asked. ' Well, it's about Brittany." " What did you do? Don't tell us she's…' " No. We're not having another kid anytime soon." ' Well, what then?" ' Well, when we were off by ourselves, with just us and Eliza, Brittany got to thinking." " About?" ' About what andy told us. She asked me if she died, what would I do?" ' Your kidding." Cash said. " huh?' " Kate asked me the same thing." " Ely asked me about the same thing." " Simon?' " Yup. Jeanette asked me too." " What did you tell Brittany?" "I said I'd never get remarried, but, I'd do my best for Eliza. What about you?" " I told Ely I'd do something in her honor." " I told Jeanette that I honestly wasn't sure. I can't imagine life with out her." " Cash?' " I told Kate I'd go completely insane." " Really?" " Oh yeah.' " Wouldn't you go on for the kids?" " I'd try. But, hopefully, they'll be long since grown before any of us are looking to die." " You said it." Theodore said. ' Well, how's about a toast guys? To long lives for us, our wives and all we love." "here here." Simon said. " Well, I feel better now? How about you guys?' Alvin asked. ' I feel fine." Theodore said. " Me too." Cash said. Simon nodded. " Hey, you know what we should do?" " No, what?' ' You ever hear born to be my baby by Bon Jovi?" " Yeah." " Well, Dave told Bon Jovi is going to be at our concert. Said he loves our music and wants to see us live." " Cool.' " but, I got a plan. And, it's not just for bon jovi being there. To show how we love our wives, we should sing that song tomorrow night. What do you think?" "good idea." Theodore said. "let's do it." ' We got to tell Dave and Todd." Simon said. " Who's room is closest to todd's?" " Mine." Theodore said. " would you tell him?" ' Sure." " Thank you." " There you are." Tom said as the new munks appeared. ' Where did you come from?" Alvin asked. " You and our moms." Eliza said. " Right, ask a stupid question." " I think he meant what are you doing down here?" Simon asked. ' Grandpa Dave sent us to come look for you." Olivia said. " Okay. He's looking for us?" Olivia nodded. " Alright, let's get going." The next night. " Ladies and gentlemen, we have a special guest. Give it up for Bon Jovi!" Alvin shouted. Bon Jovi stood and did a little bow. " Now, we've got a surprise for him. We're about to do one of his songs. More importantly though, this one goes out to our beautiful wives." ' ready Cash?" Simon mouthed to the boy in the mc both. He nodded. Simon stuck up four fingers, to show which button to push. " number 4." Cash thought. Andy began the riff. The rest of the back up band followed their leader. Some time into the song. " You were born to be my baby. And baby, I was made to be your man. We got something to believe in. Even if we don't know where we stand. Only God would know the reasons. But I bet he must have had a plan. Cause you were born to be my baby. And baby, I was made to be your man."


	52. Chapter 52

New munks

Like father, like daughter

Helen turned down a hallway. She was chasing her father. Cash was chasing somebody because he attacked her mother. They were in a massive grave yard and had ended up in the large church in the middle of the graveyard. " Daddy! Daddy wait!" Helen cried out. But, it was like Cash didn't even hear her. Or, more likely, he wasn't listening. When Katrina was hurt or in trouble, nothing would stop cash from hunting down what caused it. ' daddy! Wait up! I can't run as fast as you!" Where Tom was, Helen didn't know. But, right now, so long as her brother was safe, it didn't really matter where he was. " Daddy!" she cried once more. They came to a large ladder. The strange man pretty much leaped to the top and cash half climbed, half jumped up it. Helen was last up, for she could only climb. They burst through a door and were outside, on the roof of the church. " Put her down!" Helen heard Cash yell. It was now that Helen could see that the man had been carrying Katrina this whole time. The man through Katrina to the side and Helen rushed past her father to her mother's side. Katrina briefly opened her eyes and said " Nell.. Run." Then, she lost consciousness again. Helen didn't understand. She tried using her power to read her mother's mind, but wasn't able too. When the person they are trying their power on, Helen and Katrina had found, is unconscious, it was a free pass to scan whatever they pleased. But, Helen couldn't even remotely connect for some reason. She turned to her father. " Daddy! We need to get mom out of here!" Cash then looked at her for the first time. He wasn't her father, but the being she knew as dark Cash. Her father's inner evil and rage, in control of her father's body. In the back of her mind, Helen heard her own dark self saying 'join him! Let me out!". " No!" Helen yelled. To silence her own demon. " Daddy, please!" ' Shut up! I'm going to kill this bastard!' Cash said. Her real father would never say that to her. ' No, dad, that's not you!" She begged. " I said shut up!" Helen decided, if dark Cash wasn't leaving on his own, she'd use her power and make him. But, when she tried to 'break' Dark Cash, the tidal wave of rage and various dark thought hit her with such force, it knocked her back. She lost her footing on the slick tile of the roof and fell down. She felt helpless. She wasn't physically strong enough to take down her father and her mother's attacker. She thought about breaking the attacker, but was interrupted when her father attacked him first. " I going to rip your little throat out!' Cash yelled as he lunged at the man. The man side stepped and hit Cash On the back as he dodged him. " Bastard!" Cash yelled. " I am, thanks to you, you freak!" Dark Cash went for a punch, but the man grabbed his hand and began crushing it Cash howled in pain and was brought to his knees. " You killed my father, now I'm going to kill you!" The man then threw Cash into the air and caught him in the ribs with an apparent super human punch in mid-air. The resulting rush of pain, snapped Cash back to his senses. He noticed the man and then Helen. " Helen, take your mom and run!" cash then tried to strike the man. The man grabbed Cash's arm and twisted it till it broke. " Too predictable, murderer. You were more fun when you had that sword. You know, I'm getting tired of this. Now, Die!" HE then threw Cash over the side of the building. " Daddy!" She then heard a sickening thud and rushed past the man and looked down. He father laid on the ground below, with his body twisted and his neck bent far beyond what it could normally. A broken neck, an instant kill. " NO!" 

New munks

It's alright

Helen shot up. She looked around. She was on the plane. They were in route to Italy, the next part of the Europe tour. London laid many miles behind. " Nell?" Katrina asked. " Mom!" the young chipmunk cried and ran to her mother. Katrina wrapped her arms around her daughter. " You alright?" She asked. " Where's dad?" " He's right here." She said, pointing to Cash laying next to her. Cash rose up at this point. " What's the ruckus? I was just in the mountains with about a hundred copies of Katrina.." Cash said. Katrina looked at him. " What?" " Daddy!" Helen cried and leaped to her father. She examined him. Particularly, his neck. " Phew, it's not broken." she said out loud. ' It was just a dream. A really bad dream." ' Helen, what are you talking about?" Cash asked. " Daddy, I had an awful nightmare. We were in this church and this guy attacked mom, and you went all dark and chased him and I followed you. We ended up on the roof and he threw mom over to the side. And, no matter what I tried, I couldn't make dark Cash go away. He yelled at me and resisted my power. Then, you fought the man and called you a murderer. Even as Dark Cash, he beat you up. Messed up your ribs, broke your arm, crushed your hand and then he…. He threw you over the side and you fell and broke your neck and you…you…" Helen began to sob. ' You died!" Cash looked to Katrina. " Like father, like daughter." Alvin said. " How long you been standing there?" Cash asked. " About a minute. Whole plane woke up with Nell screaming her head off like that." " I'm sorry." Helen said. " Alvin, show some compassion." Eleanor said. Pretty much everyone was gather behind Alvin. He wasn't kidding when said the whole plane had woken up. " There, there. It's alright." Eleanor said. " See, it was a dream, just like you said. See, Cash is fine. Your dad's just fine." " But, what if it wasn't?! I'm psychic, what if it was a premonition?!" Alvin stepped fully into his brother and sister's compartment. He knelt before his niece. ' Hey, you got all of us around. See, me, Aunt Brittany, Eliza, Aunt Eleanor.. Everybody. Everything will be fine." Tom, who had woken about the same time as his parents, but had said nothing because he wanted to find out what was going on, came to over. " What Uncle Alvin is trying to say, is that nothing will happen to anybody, so long as we stick together. Right, Uncle Alvin?" ' Exactly. You'll see. Even if it was a premonition, we have the power to change the future. We've done it before." ' But, it's impossible!" Helen said.. " It's impossible? Good." Brittany said. " Because, if memory serves, we've done the impossible before and we can do it again. We live the impossible." "But.." " Hey, we're family, would we lie to you?" Eleanor asked. Helen shook her head. " Nothing will happen. We won't let it. But, if things start looking like they did your dream, you let us know and we'll deal with it." Simon said. " Now, get some sleep. We've got a full day after we land." Everybody went back to their sleeping compartments. Helen was having a time getting to sleep. She edged over to her daughter, laid her arm around her and sang. " Everything's gonna be alright. Don't you be afraid when things go bump in the night. Get closer to me, and hold on tight. Cause everything's gonna be alright." Helen smiled and eased into sleep. " Looks like she has your over active imagination." Katrina said to her husband. " But, Kate, that nightmare I had was about things I knew about already. None of those things have happened. Maybe it was a.." ' It'll be ok. Long as we're together, right?" ' Your right, babe."


	53. Chapter 53

New munks

A great rock star

" Crap! Almost had it." Cash said. They had the day off. Just like in London, they arrive the day before, do the concert, and leave the next day. So, with time on their hands and the memory of Helen's terrible dream still fresh in their minds, they went about their day in Rome. They all tried things to forget about last night. Despite what they had said, they were still worried. They knew how their luck always played out, so that worried them. And, what also worried them, was that when Katrina or Helen got dreams like that, they ended up coming true. The last time, Katrina had had it, and dreamed that the guys went out to track down a known thief/murderer that had been spotted near their neighborhood. She dreamed that they died in a massive explosion upon entering a house. And, in reality, they had come ever so close to making that happen. Luckily, Katrina's dream was so precise she knew the address and they avoided that place and lured the criminal to another place and took him down. Unfortunately, Katrina had to put training Helen in her gift on hold, because they always had something to do lately. That meant, that, she knew the details, except one. She knew the who, what, how and part of the where, but, not when. Katrina thought about helping her sharpen her power even more, but, Helen wasn't emotionally ready to deal with that vision again. So, they did what they could to forget it. Katrina took the kids sightseeing with Alvin, Brittany and Eliza. Simon and gang where going over more things from the twee-twee tribe sent by Les just a few hours ago. Eleanor and kids were preparing a nice meal for everybody to enjoy once they got back to the hotel. And, of course, Vinny Xavier, Dave and Todd were going over some things. Andy was off looking into something with his mother. That left Cash and Theodore with nothing to do. So, While Theodore fiddled about nearby, trying to figure out something to do, Cash was teaching himself a new trick. He knew every great rocker in history had their own personal trick for the guitar. Whether it was slamming it into the stage( like Alvin liked to do), balancing on your hands on the very tip of the headstock ( a la Simon), or even setting it on fire, like Jimmy Hendrix, every good rocker had a trick. And, every great one had his original trick. So, in an effort to cross over into that level, Cash was inventing a new trick. The idea was to spin the guitar around on your palm, or finger if your good, by the head stock.( Ever seen those guys spinning plates on sticks while balancing said sticks in their palms? About the same motion). ' Once more." Cash said. He spun it. " IT worked!' ' What worked?" Theodore asked. " My new guitar trick. Want to see?" " Sure." Cash performed the trick again. " Cool. I'll bet the kids will like that." " The kids? I'm hoping it'll impress the audience." " think I should learn some drums tricks?" " All our songs have such fast beats that you wouldn't have time to do them." ' True." " Hey Cash?" "Yeah?" " About Nell's dream." " Don't want to hear it Theo." " But…" " Hey, if it was a dream about your demise, from Olivia, would you want people to keep bringing it up?" " Well, no."' then you can see where I'm coming from.' "Yeah. I understand. But, like Alvin said, whatever happens, we'll face it down as family, right?" " Exactly." " And you'll lead, like always." ' Huh?' ' You're the best leader out of all of us." ' I guess so. Ha, ha. Alright, just follow me." " Hey, there's an idea." " What?" " Why don't you sing 'follow me now' at the concert?" " Hmm, you know, that sounds like a good idea." " Hey!" Alvin came, shouting. " You'll never guess who we ran into!"

New munks

Vinny's time to shine

" You got us Al. Who?" " Starship!" " Starship?" Theodore asked. ' Ever heard the song ' we built this city on rock and roll, Theo?" Cash asked. " Once or twice." " They sing that." " Oh, really? Cool. And you just ran into them, Alvin?" " Yup. They said they've been launching a comeback and were just taking a vacation here." " Oh, that's cool. You invite them to the concert tomorrow night?" " Of course." " They have any preferences? Song requests?" Cash asked. " yeah. I told them Bon Jovi was at our last one and we sang one of his, but they didn't feel like hearing one of their old ones." " What do they want to hear?" " One of our old ones." " And that would be?" " Witch doctor.' " Lord, you'd think that would be done to death, but, if that's what they want." " yeah, I know. But, let's use the latest version we've got." " Sounds like a good idea." So, the next night. " Yeah! In the place to be. Chipmunks on m.I.c. Witch doctor!" human cash started in the do booth. Later, The munks were so far into their song they barely noticed they were nearing the end of it. In a bit of genius, Cash waved for Vinny and the kids to come on stage. " You know our kids. Well, This is our mom, Vinny." Cash said, as he and the guys grouped around her. " Ah, boys. You don't have to do this for me." " Come on, mom. Everybody should know you too." Alvin said. " Me and the guys wouldn't be here with out you." " Well, I guess." ' Give our mom a round of applause ladies and gents!' Vinny blushed profusely as there came a roar from the crowd.' so mom, why don't you show the nice people where our all our talent comes from?" " Oh, not from me. I'm not a good singer. Maybe your father, I don't remember." " Come on mom, you sing beautifully. Just try." Theodore said. ' for us? For your boys?" Alvin asked. " I don't think they'll let you go unless you do, grandma." Eliza said. " Well, alright. But, what?" " Try a bit of the witch doctor." ' Uh, alright. Um…" " You can do it." Simon said. " oo ee oo ah ah ting tang walla walla bing bang." The crowd burst with cheers of " What a voice' and such. Vinny blushed. " Well, kids, you ready to help us finish this song right?' Alvin asked. " Of course. We always are, daddy." Eliza said. " Mom?" ' You want me?" " Of course." " Well, alright. " Kick it back up Cash!' Simon called to the boy in the do booth. The family kicked it off. " Ooh to the eeh the ooh the ahah to the ting to the tang the wallawalla bingbang." after wards, they headed back to the hotel.. " You were great mom." Theodore said. " Ah, you boys are just saying that." " Mom, did you hear the crowd cheering for you?" Alvin asked." I did." " Well, that's what we in the biz call a 'good thing'. you must be doing something right if the crowd's cheering."' You could probably pull you own album now, Vin." Xavier kidded. " Oh no, I don't think so." They had a good laugh about it. That night, while they were sleeping, vinny took her extra card keys, which she had in case something happened and she needed to get into their hotel rooms. She entered Al and Britt's room first. She looked to her second oldest and his wife. " Thank you, Alvin." Vinny wasn't sure why she was doing this, but something was telling her to. Once she finished in Simon's room, the last one, she returned to the hallway. " Vinny." she heard. She looked down the hall. There stood a chipmunk. " Cash?" she asked the entity. He shook his head. " Guess again, my dearest." " Oh god! Tom!" " Ding!" The spirit said. " what are you doing here?" " I'm here to talk."

New munks

One night only

" Come with me." Tom said to Vinny. He walked down the hall and Vinny followed her deceased husband. He wandered into the elevator and she followed. He went all the way outside. The night watch man just looked at her. " Going somewhere ma'am?" He asked. " um, I forgot something in the car. Can't get to sleep with out it. I'll be back in a minute." She then followed Tom outside. Once they were away from prying eyes, she faced him. " What are you here for?" " To talk, Vin. I told you that." " I know but… Your…" ' Oh yeah. Come here." She couldn't resist. The spirit then kissed her. " What? That… that.. That felt real." " It was. As real as you want it to be. I've been granted tonight only be with you. But, I'm only as real as you want me to be." ' very real! I want you to be very real!" She then hugged the spirit and it felt as though he was solid. " I've missed you so much, Tom!" Vinny sobbed. " I can barely look at Cash, because of you." " I know, I know." He said, rubbing her back gently. " I've missed you so much." She repeated. ' I know. I've been watching. You don't know how long I've been begging for this one opportunity. The powers that be granted me two opportunities. I can appear like this once and posses somebody one time, but, I'm saving that for an emergency." " I see. ever cautious. Holding back what you can till you need it. Our sons do that too." ' I know. I've seen. They've grown exactly as I wanted them to. Well, their inner darkness coming out is a problem, but hey, god never said we wouldn't be challenged.' ' But, only challenged with what we can bear." " Exactly. Our favorite line from the good book." He smiled. Vinny felt a part of her heart feel warm for the first time in a long time. The last time it was warm like this was when he was still actually alive. " Tom?" " Yes, my dear?" " Please, kiss me again. Show me with out a doubt this is real." " as you wish." And so he did. " this is real. Thank you, lord. I'm not dreaming." " Vinny, don't doubt it or I'll disappear." ' Right!" He grinned again. ' Your jumpy as ever, aren't you?" she smiled. It felt just like when they were together. She felt a warmness in her stomach. " What is this?" She asked. "Butterflies? Now come on Vinny, we're husband and wife." She smiled. " Your right, just like always." After some more general staring and comforting, she had to ask him. " So, what did you want to talk about?" ' I saw what happened after our granddaughter had that dream." " Yeah…' " Vinny, just trust in the boys and me. They'll do everything in their power and I'll do everything I can to protect them." " Yeah.." " Vinny, look at me." She did. " I will never let anything happen to them. I love them, as much as you do. Just trust me." ' I do. It's just that.. Our boys enemies are so powerful." " Vinny, everything will be fine." He gave her a quick peck on the lips to reassure her. 'Your right." " and, if all else fails, I'll posses somebody to protect them. I'll never let them die until God says it's time." Vinny nodded. " well, before anybody starts to notice your gone, I'd best leave." "Please, don't!" " I can't stay forever Vin. I'm sorry." " But.." " Hey, I remember I love you." " And I love you, always." " Same." He walked ways. " Oh, tell the boys I approve of their wives and kids. Especially Tom. I'm honored Cash named his first born after me. and tell their wives I've met their mom and dad. they fully approve of their choices for husbands. And, they love them and will do whatever they can, just like me, to protect them. That Agito too. He's very proud of Cash, as am I." He looked up towards a light shining on him." that's my ride. Remember, I love you."


	54. Chapter 54

New munks

Merger

" So, what did you want to talk about Sy?" Alvin asked. Today, the day after the concert, they were bound for Germany, the next leg of the tour. " Well, I went over that new info on the twee-twee tribe from les." " And?" " I believe history is repeating itself more than we thought." " How so?" Cash asked. " Remember, years back, when we thought we were in complete command of the dark munks?" "Yeah, how could we forget. We tried meditation and even that machine of yours which caused our brains to flip-flop." Alvin said. " and I'll thank you not to remind us of that again." Cash said, looking to Simon and Jeanette. ' Yeah, we all don't need to be reminded what happened when Simon and Cash swapped bodies." Theodore said. " Theodore!' Cash and Simon shouted.. " Oh, sorry. I'll just shut now." " Anyways, you were saying Simon?" Alvin asked. " Well, as it turns out, the warriors of the tribe…" " The ones with the power to go dark right?" Theodore interrupted. " Yes. Those particular ones went through intense mental and physical conditioning in order to achieve a prized status." " And that would be?" " It roughly translates as ' merged state'." " Merged state?" " Basically, they sought to combine their regular self with their dark self." " Oh, like when Cash clobbered that albino Werewolf." Alvin said. " Well, yes, basically." " So, they tried to use their regular forms skills with their dark's strength?" Theodore asked. " That was the idea. From what Les, Justine, Jeanette and I could figure it mostly happened in battle. They called this moment ' the resonance'. Where both states want the same thing, often just pure survival, and that causes them to resonate with each other and allow the merger." " Wow, never knew it was so deep." Eleanor said. " Well, that's what they thought. But, I figure, this merger is very practical. If we look at this as a case of split personality disorder…" ' pick your words, sy. Don't make it sound like we're all sick in the head or something." Alvin said. " It's just an example, Alvin." " Okay, okay. Go on." " Right. Well, looking at our case, or theirs, as a case of split personality, and you have to admit we do act differently.' The others nodded. " Well, often other personas have other wants. Like in our case. We may want to go in, rescue or fight whoever and get out, but our dark selves want to wreck the place and.." ' make it go boom?" Alvin asked. " Precisely. But, when both personalities want the same thing, it unifies the mind and allows the person to fight at their fullest potential." " Hence Cash can lift and throw a two, maybe three hundred pound monster over his head." Alvin said. ' it's not just Cash. True, he may have done it the most, but, we've all had our moments." Alvin nodded. He could recall some times he had done it, especially, if not only for Brittany. " Even the girls have had their moments." Simon said. "Now that you mention it, when we fought the Franklin kids, I remember.. what was his name? The leader? Oh, Sean. I remember him being shocked by our transformation and asking " what are you?' And, right before I clocked him, I shouted, feeling very in control, " I'm in love.' ' Katrina said. ' And then we had to hightail it, cause they tried to blow up their base around us." Alvin said " exactly, you see. History really is repeating itself. Now, I surmise that those eight who survived the war and became the kings and queens were most likely the most adept at this merger. Imagine, if we could find out how they trained and got themselves in line for it, imagine what we could do. We could finally get this fully under control." " For real this time?" " Yes." " Well, get to work Simon."

New munks

Father

" I'm on it. Jeanette?" " Coming, dear." As the two walked away, Vinny' appearance changed. She seemed to be feeling very upset about something. ' Something wrong, mom?" Cash asked, kneeling in front of her. Simon and Jeanette stopped and looked. Vinny looked away from her son and said ' just fine dear.' " You sure?" She looked away again. " Absolutely." " Is it just me, or does it seem that She's avoiding looking at Cash?" Theodore asked. " I was thinking the same thing, honey.' Eleanor said. " Is that true mom?" Vinny gave no answer. " Did I do something to upset you?" " No, dear. It's just that.. Forget it. You wouldn't believe me if I told you. It's too crazy." ' Mom, we live in crazy. We're crazy magnets." " No, this is just insane.' " Try us." " It's.. because of Tom." " what did I do, grandma?" Tom asked. " No, she means…' Alvin started. " Dad." Simon said. Jeanette embraced her husband, in an attempt to comfort him. Thinking about their father never really did put the guys in good spirits.' Now, look at you. I'd best stop, before I completely depress you." " We can take it, go on." Alvin said. " Please mom." Theodore said. " Well, last night, I don't know why, but something told me to go into each of your rooms and thank you for no apparent reason. When I was finished, I heard a voice call for me in the hall. I looked and their he stood." " Dad?" " Yes, plain as the nose on my face. Thought it was Cash as first, but that mistake cleared up really soon. He told me to follow him and we went outside. We talked and told me that he had begged the powers that be to allow him a chance to come to earth again, in anyway he could. They gave him two opportunities, he said. One full man, mani.." ' Manifestation?" Simon asked. ' That's it. That and one possession. HE used his full manifestation to come speak to me last night." ' really?" " I told you it was crazy. But, believe me, it was very real. I felt it, literally. I hugged him and…" " Kissed him?" " Several times actually.' The boys worried faces turned to grins. " You don't believe me?" " Oh we do. We're just imagining that scene. Sorry, go on." " Well, we chatted a bit and then we got down to what he came to talk about." " Which was?" " He came about Nell's dream." Helen looked down. " Don't worry sweet heart, it was good news. HE said " Just trust the boys and me. They'll do every thing in their power and so will I. And said, he'd never let anything bad happen to any f them. That he loved them as much as I do. And, he said ' If all else fails, I'll posses somebody to protect them.' He said he won't let them die until God says it's their time." " So, in short, cheer up, Nell." Alvin said. " yeah, Grandpa Tom is watching over us." Brittany added. " Oh, on that us comment." Vinny said. " Yeah?" Brittany asked. " he said he fully approves of the boys selections for wives. And, he loves the kids too. He said he was honored Cash named his son after him." ' Well, that's all good." Jeanette said. " I'm not done. Girls, he said he met Sam and Mandy." " Mom and dad?" " yes. They approve of you marrying my boys, they love you and will do everything, just like tom, to keep you safe." " Wow." Was all Brittany could muster. " and Cash?' " Yeah mom?" ' He said he met Agito. He said Agito's very proud of you, and so is he." ' I see." Cash couldn't help but smile. ' Feel good dad?" Tom asked. Cash nodded. " Feel better Nelly?" Katrina asked. "Much! I know Grandpa Tom and the others won't let all that stuff I saw happen." Helen smiled. " Ah, that's what I like. My daughter smiling." " We'll be arriving shortly. Please buckle up for landing." The pilot said.

New munks

Andy's packing heat

' Must have hit a good wind. We're early." Simon said. " Well, you heard the man." They buckled up. Ten minutes later. ' and we've officially landed in Germany. Your free to disembark." " let's get into our hotel." Dave said. An hour later, Tom and Cash were out training. Katrina took Helen for some long over do training of her own. Alvin, Theodore and their combined brood went sight seeing. Simon and company began pouring over all the information Les had sent. Xavier went to find Andy, whilst Dave and Todd plotted. Vinny slept, dreaming of Tom. Meanwhile, Andy and Patricia were in a local store. Patricia knew German and attempted to translate. " Why do you want this?" She asked her son. " Protection." ' didn't you bring the suit Simon designed?' " Yes, but, I won't always have time to run and get it put on and can't wear it all the time." They were in a gun store. Andy was looking to purchase a low caliber handgun. The local laws stated that you had to be eighteen to purchase a weapon like that. Andy qualified. Now, if he had a legitimate reason, something that sounded like it was a necessity for him to get this, Andy wouldn't have to go through the long process of applying for a permit. " There you are." Xavier said. " Xavier, you have a license to purchase a gun in any country, correct?" "Yeah." ' Does it tell your age?" ' yes." ' well, could you get this and give it to me later?" " why?" ' a little insurance. In case a fight springs up and I don't have time to put on the suit." " Well, alright. If it's for the kids protection." Xavier got the gun. " I'll hold on to it for now. If you happen to need it, I'll give it to you. Once we're back in the states and it gets cleared, it's all yours." " Can I hold it?" " Don't see why not. Just keep the safety on." " of course." Andy examined the gun. " Look at this baby." " It is a piece of work alright." Xavier said. " Huh?' Patricia asked, the only one out of the gun appreciation loop. " Mum, this is a .22 caliber nemesis pistol. Automatically, just by being a lower caliber, it has less recoil and thus more accuracy. It's slide is polished to the nth degree. The feed system has been tweaked for maximum speed. It's got easy to change clips, which makes reloading a breeze. It's made of charcoal black, rust resistant steel. The handle even has small grooves in it to allow maximum grip and stability. And, it's got one of those old fashioned sights, here, just above the end of the barrel. Line that up and bang! Hey, looky here. It can be fitted with a laser sight too. Xavier?" " alright, but that's the last thing." " I swear on my honor." Once Xavier returned, Andy attached the sight. ' There. Now, with two sight systems, I would have to be a really crummy shot to miss. But, with my training, that won't happen." " What about noise?" Patricia asked. " see these grooves, cut along this chamber here? " Yes." " This is where the firing mechanism and everything is. With these small grooves cut in it, more air is released when firing and thus cuts back the noise." ' Wow." " On top of that, judging by the threading I see in the inside of the tip of the barrel, it looks as though it can be fitted with a silencer."' Which I am not going to buy." Xavier added. " Wouldn't ask you to. The extra weight would through off the careful balances already in place. No, this gun is perfect. Easily stowed, due it's smaller size. and.." Andy did an air flourish with the weapon. " It's just right to do tricks like that, which I could work into some attack means themselves. Take pistol whipping to a whole new level." ' hello?" Xavier answered his phone. ' Xavier, round up everybody. We've got a surprise for them." Simon said, sounding very happy.


	55. Chapter 55

New munks

Ginger

"Who is the greatest romancer the world's ever seen? Who sweeps the girls off their feet and makes them all scream? Who is the suavest, most dashing man the world's ever seen? Captain Chipmunk is my name, And I am supreme." Alvin sang to himself. The song, after being gone for so long, had just popped back into his head and he couldn't help but sing it. " Alvin, sweetie, what did I say about that song?" Brittany asked. " Not to sing it ever ag… I'm dead. I swear Britt, it just popped in there. I forgot, honestly, I'm sorry.' " Alright, I'll let it slide this time." " Phew." " Talk about dodging bullets." Theodore said. " Guys!" Xavier shouted. " Oh, hey, x. What's up?" Brittany asked. " Simon called me and wanted to gather everybody up and get your butts back to the hotel." " Why?" " Didn't say why, but he sounded really happy." " alright, let's see what super brain wants." Alvin said. " Oh, where's Cash, Kate and the kids?" " Out training." where?' " uh, I think they're in the really big park in the center of town." Eleanor said. " Alright, get back to the hotel and I'll be right there with them soon." ' Ok." Meanwhile, at the hotel. ' So, how's everything?" Jeanette asked Heather. She was chatting with her through the live feed system they had set up for Cash to see his little sister should she be born before they got back. " alls well. Place hasn't fallen down with out you, yet." Jeanette laughed. " Has mom water the flowers like we asked?" " Yes. I spent the day with her the other day. The first thing we did was go water all you girls samandy flowers." The girls had a samandy flower for each member of their household. In Jeanette's case, she had a dark blue one for Simon, a light blue for herself and a small blue one for Tony. The flowers were coated and sized. " Good to hear. It would be a shame for those to wilt. They're like a sign of how we're doing." " Really?" " Oh yes. Once, Tony had a cold and I swear, his flower looked sick too." " so, if a flower dies…" ' Let's not talk about that." " Right. Where's everybody else?" " Should be here soon. Everybody just went off to do their own thing." " I'm telling you this better be good. Tom almost had laido nailed." " And Helen felt like a new ability was developing." " You'll like this." " Ah, speak of the devil." Simon said. " what do you want Sy?" Alvin asked. ' Check this out. Heather…" ' Here she is." Heather held up baby Ginger. " Oh my god! She's so cute! When?" Katrina asked. " Yesterday, round noon." " Wow. Think she can hear me?" " Probably. If I can, I don't know why she couldn't." " Hi there, Ginger. I'm your god mom, Katrina. And this is your god dad, Cash.' " Where's Jason?" Cash asked. " Taking care of something at the label." " Harry run it into the ground yet?" 'No. Actually, everybody is getting along fairly well. Jason's having a bit of challenge trusting Harry, but thank god for Eli and Charlene is all I can say. The ' chip punks' have been enjoying having the run of the place while their parents work. Especially Rex. Said he'd turn the place into his private club house.' " jerk.' Tom huffed. " Uh, how's Roxy?' He continued. ' She's fine. She asked the other day if we'd heard from you." " She's thinking about me… Cool." Tom thought. " matter of fact, they all asked about their " significant other." Heather laughed. " It's not like that. We're just friends!" Eliza shouted. " Ah, young love." " I mean it!" ' I hear you. 'yawn!" " Still worn out?' Eleanor asked. ' Yeah. Six hour labor." " Well, Let's let her rest. Say bye Cash.' " Bye mom. Give gingy a kiss for me." " Will do, love you baby."

New munks

New plan

At the group's base. " So, now what?" Claudia asked. She had been sitting around all this time, just brooding. " When are we going to make a move? Frankenstein's fully recovered, isn't he?" Ian asked. " Yes he is." The male leader said. " He'll be here shortly." " So, now that we're all healed up, when can we take our second go?" Claus asked. ' We have a new plan actually." The female leader said. " What?" " The munks are on tour in Europe." " damn! Hard telling where they are now then.' Ian said. " Yes, but we have a plan to hurt them with out physically touching them." The male lead said. " what do you mean?" " What's better than killing somebody you hate?" The group shrugged. " Never thought about it." Ian said. " Torturing them before you finish them." " ah!' The group said." How?" " Simple. We hit them where they live, literally." " Come again." Claudia said. " think about it. The chipmunks are gone. Their houses and their label are virtually unguarded." " we attack the label and the houses!" Claus said. " exactly." ' what is the plan?" Frankenstein asked as he came in. ' Ah, Victor. Good to see you've healed nicely." The female lead said. " Yes, yes. Now, what were you talking about?" " think of this, Victor. The munks are on tour in Europe. Their houses and the label are unguarded." " Then, we destroy them!" Frankenstein said. " You catch on quick. That's the plan." " When?" " Tomorrow, midday. Our scouts have shown that's when there is the least foot and car traffic through their neighborhood." " How do we prepare?" " Get your best weapons. For you victor, prepare some of your mutant bugs." " Yes, my lovely widows have been dying for some entertainment." " Then it's agreed. Now, everybody make your preparations and get some rest." Once the leaders left, Ian turned to the others. ' Ever notice how they never do anything but bark orders?" ' They provide the money, resources and henchmen." Claus said. " I'd say they do plenty." ' Yeah, but, they're members of this little organization too. Why didn't they take their turns after we took ours?" " perhaps this is their turn?' Victor asked. " Using us?" Ian asked back. ' No one ever said we couldn't use each other." Claudia said. " I guess that's true. Speaking of using people, I know somebody who'd love to wreck Cash's house." " That Ken?' " Yeah. Let's send out some men and send him an invitation." Meanwhile. " Those four should come up with something interesting for tomorrow." The female lead said. " Yes, but at the end of the day, they are mere pawns. Once the munks are disposed of, we can put our true plan into action.' ' Yes, but, brother, how do we accomplish that?" " You let me decide that, sister." ' Alright. By the way, how are those two in the basement doing?" " Sean and Naomi Franklin? Just fine. They've taken well to our secret experiments. Sean will now have his larger younger brother's strength, plus his own and Naomi has near superhuman speed thanks to the fibers taken from Leon." " It's been so many years, but we're almost there. The franklins, those idiots. Mere pawns." "yes. Ah, I just thought of two more." " Who, brother?" " There were two people employed by the franklins to attack the munks." ' who?" "Grant Morella, a man with cybernetic replacements for his arms. Got into some trouble in his native Italy. A Lot of murders. Got his arms severely damaged in his escape. Got some black market cybernetics and replaced his arms." " Good, and the other?" " No real name, only known as Mr. L. Specialized mercenary. Specialized in live capture, using a variety of tranquilizer based weapons." " Get them."

New munks

The extended family vs. the group

" Yawn!" Jesse let out the next morning. He looked to his wife. She was just getting up. ' Morning beautiful." " Morning." Thud. " Here comes our little one." " Yup." ' Morning!" Kathy shouted as she bounded into the room. ' mommy, can I help make breakfast?" Mommy?" Juliet asked. " Sure, you're the only mom I've ever had." Kathy hugged Juliet. " I love you mommy." Juliet teared up a bit. " I love you too, Kathy." " so, how about some breakfast before we go see Jason and heather's new baby over at mom and dad's?" Jesse asked " Sounds good." Later. " Wow. She's so cute." Juliet said. " Thank you." " Yup, you did well, Heather. Two great ones for my little punk brother." Megan said. She and Cam, and their new baby boy, named Roy Tomes, were there. Mary and Gary Diggs, Megan and Jason's parents, and of course Ms. Miller, were also there. " hey. I'm not a punk!" Larry was looking out the window. " Something the matter dear?' Raya asked. Larry said nothing. ' Dad?" Jessica asked. " Huh? Oh, sorry. Wasn't paying attention.' " What's going on?" " I've been watching this weird truck outside. It's just of parked there, right in between all the munks houses. It's hard to get that spot on accident." " you think the driver stopped there intentionally?" " Now I know he did. Look at that guy." " That's Ken Ikebana!" Jason said. " Raya, get my cane." " Cam!' " I know, their in my trunk." " What are you guys doing?" Megan asked. " If Ken's just hanging around near Cash's house, that's not good. And, even without Cash there, it can't be good for him to be there." " Okay, so what are you going to do?" " Find out what's going on." " I'm coming too." Jesse said. " Then you'll need a weapon. ' Me too." Gary said. " but dad." " I still owe Cash for what he did for me years ago." " Well, alright." Once the guys were geared up and the girls locked up the house, they went investigating. " What are they doing?" Jason asked. ' Let's hurry it up!' Claudia yelled. " Burn these shacks to the ground, now!" "That tell you? Let's get them!" Jesse said. Jesse tackled for the first few goons he saw. " Your son…" Gary said. " is impulsive? I know, but, I got to agree with him. Let's go!"

While Jesse, Gary and Cam handled Claus, Claudia and their goons, and quite impressively at that, Larry and Jason hunted down Ken. " Ken!" Jason shouted. " Ah, the outsider's friend. Here to stop me?" "Hell yes!" Jason struck Ken repeatedly. " hardly felt that." Then Ken swatted Jason. Larry pulled out the sword in his cane and slashed Ken's back. 'Why you little!" He attempted to smash Larry's face in. Larry grabbed his fist, turning on his left over werewolf strength. " You think your scary?" Larry asked. ' I guarantee you, I'm a hell of a lot scarier!" He said, growling a bit and his eyes turning yellow. He turned the full power on and flipped Ken over into a crowd of goons. "Remind me to never get on your bad side." Jason said. When they finished the last goons, they tried to corner Claus and Claudia. Ken had hit his head on the pavement. He was out. ' It's over, lady! Now, just sit tight while we call the cops." Jesse said. " I think not." Claudia said, before dropping a small device. " Holy! Grenade!" cam shouted. " Hit the dirt!" It turned out to be a smoke grenade. Claus and Claudia were gone. " Damn, I wasn't counting on all of them." Claudia said. Meanwhile. " Just a smoke grenade. They got away. And they took Ken too." Jason whined. "Uh guys?" Heather asked. " Yeah?" We got a call. It's Harry, something's going on at the label too." " And the hits keep coming. Call Elsa and Frankie. They can be there before we can."


	56. Chapter 56

New munks

Chip punks vs. Hawke

" What the hell is going on exactly!?" Harry shouted. " We're being attacked!" A worker shouted. " Some guys are just wrecking the lower levels, sir." " Damn. I was hoping you wouldn't tell me that too. Just like the last two. Alright, find Charlene, she'll get you to safety. I'll head to the security office and lock them in down there." While the former enemy of the munks ran to try to save their label, his thoughts turned to his children. ' Where are they?" He wondered. ' Harry!" " Charlene!" " I just got a call. Frankie and Elsa are on their way. They can be here before the others. Apparently, these bozos attacked the guys houses too." " Damn! They're taking advantage of the fact the guys aren't here." " More importantly, that Ian Hawke is with them." " Most likely acting as leader." " Harry, where are the kids?" " I don't know. I'm headed to the security control room to lock those guys down stairs in. Maybe the cameras will tell us." " Then lets go!" Where they found their kids horrified them. They were in the direct middle of all the guys on the lower levels. What's more, they were fighting them and, Harry had to admit, it looked like they were winning. But, Pride turned to concern. HE knew he had to lock the men in, or they'd spread out and smash the rest of the place. But, that would mean locking his kids in too. " Do something Harry!" " Alright. Rex! Can you hear me?" Harry spook into the intercom speaker on the table. " Loud and clear dad! What's going on?" " These are being ordered by a guy named Ian Hawke. If he's in there, you'll recognize him easy. Most likely has dark black shades on and a really shiny bald head.' " I can see him the corner. Where are you?" "In the security room. We're watching through the security cameras. Wait, there. I see him too." " Dad, we got to stop these guys from spreading. They're wrecking my club house!" " I know son. I can do that here. But, if I lock them in, I'll be locking the six of you in too." " Dad, we can handle this. Do it, before they start paying attention and try to escape!" Roxy yelled. Harry, against his better judgment, did as his daughter said. The security gates and doors turned on. " Your on your own now. Kick some butt." " We will. Believe me, we will." " attack!" Rex shouted in his leader voice. " Sir!" An amazed Charlene saw now how tough her kids really were. They made short work of the goons. ' My god!" " What? Did you think those karate lessons I made take were for show?" Harry asked. Then he heard Ian speak. " Damn! Why do bloody, snot nosed kids always foil my plans?" ' Hey, we may be kids, but we're not snot-nosed." Zack said. " Now, how would you like your ass to be kicked?" Rex said, cracking his knuckles. " He.." Charlene said. " there are times when cursing is appropriate. This is one." " you know, I really liked this place. I was gonna turn it into my club, but then you had to mess it up. I'm gonna beat you till you can't see straight." " You've got a smart mouth. Reminds me of Cash's son." " I'm better than that loser on any day." " I don't about that Rex." " Not now, Roxy." " Ah , I see. She cares about him? I'll hazard a guess and say that each of you has a soft spot for at least one of the munks kids." The chip punks just looked away for a moment. " I knew it. Wait until they find out I killed their loves." " Over my dead body!" Harry shouted. He and Charlene had quickly made their way down and released the locks and burst into the room. He punched Ian square in the jaw. Ian fell over and his eyes rolled up in the back of his head. "One hit k.o. Way to go dad.' Rex said. " That felt good." Harry said. Bang, bang. " What now?"

New munks

'Father' vs. 'son'

Frankenstein, with his healed monster spider legs as attempting to break down the outside security barrier. " Holy!" Harry said, seeing the man/monster on the security cameras. They were all held up in the security room upstairs. " Damn! Frankenstein, I thought he was dead after his base blew up. He was freaking in it when it went! How did he survive?" " That's what you had to fight that night?" Charlene asked. " Amongst others. " Damn! Why can't that bastard die!?" Eli said. " Eli!? Where have you been?" " Trying to call the cops." " No good, look at that thing on top of the truck they've got park out side. Not only is the truck blocking the traffic's view of all this, but that thing must be killing all our cell and phone signals. We can't even send an sos on the net. That signal scrambler is really good." Charlene said. Everybody looked at her. " I watch a lot of old sci-fi movies late at night." ' He's not so bad. Dad beat him before, he can do it again. Get going dad!" Rex said. " Rex, I fought some henchmen. The chipmunks fought Frankenstein and his mutants." " Well, Eli here was one, don't you have any left over power?" Zack asked. " No. That pill Simon gave me completely wiped me clean." " Crap!' Nikki aid. " Then what do we do?" Holly asked. " This place doesn't have any weapons, does it?" Jake asked." No, our only line of defense is the security system. Hank god it operates on a different system than the phone and net." Harry said. " He's going to break in dad! We have to do something!" " Wait! The Calvary has arrived!" Charlene shouted. She pointed out Elsa and Frankie, now wading past Frankenstein's half of the men and mutant insects. " They need help!' Roxy shouted. She looked to the wall. She noted a really big emergency fire hose on the wall. " guys!' he said, pointing to it. They unraveled it and turned on the water. The began blasting all the goons and bugs. Elsa motioned for Frankie to go on. " Father!" Frankie yelled. Frankenstein turned. " Ah, my greatest disappointment. Stay away, 'son', daddy's busy!" Frankie grabbed Frankenstein's spider legs and ripped two off. " AUGH!" Frankenstein's tail shot out and smashed his first 'son' into the ground. He beat on him till he was out cold. " Frankie!' Elsa called. Rex noted a fie extinguisher and portable defibrillator nearby. He grabbed them and jumped out the window. " Rex!" HE bounced off Frankenstein's head and landed nice and easy. " Elsa!" Rex called. " Take this!" He said, handing her the heart starter. " it kicks out electricity. Use it to revive him. I'll keep the freak away!" HE turned on the extinguisher and began flash freezing the bus, as all the men had been taken care of by Frankie and Elsa, with the CO2 spray. Trying to help Rex, the others kept blasting with the hose. Once revived, Frankie saw what was going on. He took the extinguisher from Rex and smashed it into Frankenstein's head until it burst open, dumping the freezing cold contents out on him. He fired up the defibrillator and looked up. HE pointed to Frankenstein, once the last spider had been half drowned. The quick thinking bunch never said a word, and waited for the right moment. "Father! I will not let you do this." " Don't you dare call me that. I'm not your father. Don't call me that." ' Gladly. All these people are my family. I will not let you hurt them.' ' And what are you going to do? Did you already forget how bad I can hurt you? I gave you life and I can take it too." " hat am I going to do? This! Now!" The others doused Frankenstein and Frankie jumped on his back. ' Electricity gave me life. I wonder what it'll do to you?" He stuck the paddles to His ' father's' Soaked temples and let off the charge. The direct, super charged, bolt was more than Frankenstein's mind could take. All his synapses got messed up. As his body shut down, Frankie and Rex gave him one hard shot, together, straight to his temple. Finally, the monster doc was down. The others rushed out side. " That was great Rex!" Roxy yelled. " But, you could have told us what you were planning." Charlene said. "Would you let me do it if I had?" " no." " Well, there you go." Another truck rolled up. " What now?" Harry asked. Gas pellets flew from the trucks. "gas!" Harry yelled. Too late, they were over come y the thick cloud. While they struggled, Ian, Frankenstein and all the goons were retrieved. Once the gas cleared they saw nothing. ' They got away!' Zack said. " Man!' Nikki complained. " and after all that!" " well, nothing we can do." " Hey! You guys alright?" Jesse said as he and his gang arrived. " Yeah." Harry said. " man, looks like a war zone." Heather said. "By the way, this is baby ginger. Our new born." " She's cute.' Charlene said. " Is it over now?" Eli asked. " Yeah. Where did you go?" " I went to the roof to see if I could possibly flag any helicopters that may be around to help us. No luck." " think they'll be back?" Jesse said. " No. Not their style. Now that they know that we can be just as tough as the regular gang, they won't mess with us. They did get hurt and what not. They'll go off and lick their wounds. They may be back after that, but, the chipmunks should be back." Jason said. " Well, anybody else hungry?" Ms. Miller asked. ' Yes!" Rex shouted. " I'm dying from hunger!" " Alright. Let's get something to eat and then clean this place up." Charlene said. Meanwhile, back at the group's base. ' And that's what happened." Claus said. " Alright. Go on a take a break. We'll deliberate and figure out what to do later." The male lead said. " Alright." " They have no clue do they?" " No. While they were out, we got a hold of Grant. Once we have L, we'll be ready. He's proving elusive, but our scouts will find him." The male said. " What about our other business? You said you'd start trying to find what we need to make our true plan become a reality." " I have several promising prospects. I'll look into them some more and see which is best for us." " Alright. Just let me know when you decide." " Alright." " Have the final surgeries been performed on the franklins?" ' not yet. But, in a few days they will be ready. After some combat practice, we'll send them to acquire what we need for our true plan as a field test. If they succeed, then we'll see." " Sounds good." And, back with the heroes. " Oh, hi Cash." Jason said. " We just got done with the concert here in Germany. We'll leave for Scotland tomorrow and then head home after that." Really? Good. My boy any good?" " a natural DJ." " Glad to hear." "Why do you sound wore out, jay?" " Well.. We had some trouble." " What kind?" ' That group that's always hounding you." ' They came after you?" " Not exactly. They were going to smash up your houses while you were gone. But, Cam, dad, Larry, Jesse and myself took care of Claus and Claudia there.. They even had ken come along to bash your place in particular. Larry took care of him. But, they got a way. Then, Frankenstein.." " Frankenstein!" " YEah, he's not dead." " I was hoping he was." ' We all were." ' Well, go on." " Well, he and Ian came knocking at the label. Used a jammer so that, after a while, Harry and company could send out anymore calls or emails." ' Wow." ' Yeah. Luckily, their kids proved their toughness and took care of Ian's goons and the Harry clocked Ian. After that, Frankie and Elsa arrived and, with some help from Rex and the gang, beat Frankenstein. I'll spare you all the details." " Thanks. You know, we can cancel and be home by morning." " Nah. It's nothing we can't handle." " Well, alright. I got to go, bye." ' Bye."


	57. Chapter 57

New munks

Where are we?

Cash hung up the phone. " Something wrong?" Katrina asked. This drew everybody else's attention. " Not a thing." "Cash, your a great leader, but a lousy liar.' Theodore said. ' Yeah, we all heard you talk about Frankenstein. What's going on?" Alvin asked. Seeing he had no choice, Cash told them what happened. " Damn! Somebody call them, we got some butt to kick back home!" Alvin said. " Cool it Al. They repelled the attack. And, you know how this group takes their precious time. We'll back home before they even have time to get another attack ready." Simon said. " yeah but…" " Don't be so trigger happy Alvin. We still have a job to do. We'll be home soon enough." Eleanor said. " I'm not trigger happy. I've just got a lot of precious and some priceless stuff in my house." " Yeah. And, if they broke any pictures of Liz when she was little…" Brittany said. The family looked at her. " What? She is my daughter. My most prized thing in the world." " Correction, our most prized." Alvin said. " Aw, you guys." Liz said. " Well, want to turn in? We've got a good flight tomorrow." Dave said. " sounds good." The next day. " Okay, where are we again?" Alvin asked. "Inverkeithing

, Scotland." Simon said. " Never heard of it." " Little town. But, big theater for us to play at." " and even bigger 'gulp' graveyard." Cash said. " Let's keep that off our sightseeing list." Helen stared at the graveyard. Once she noted a particular building in the center of it, she knew. " that's it." " You say something Nell?" Katrina asked. " Uh, nothing." Helen shot her mom a ' I'll tell you later' signal. Katrina nodded. " So, where we staying this time?" Tom asked. " Change of plans. Andy's got family here with a very large house we can stay at." Todd said. " really?" " Yeah. I'm sure Clyde will let us Stay. He has a huge house. Inheritance. It's got more rooms than he knows what to do with." " Sounds good." Later. " Adrian!" A man, with a very thick Scottish accent said as Andy rang the door bell. " Hey Clyde." " Patricia, good to see you." Clyde's wife said. " Nice to see you too, Marcie." " Are those who I think they are?" Clyde asked. " Yup. Meet the chipmunks. Cash, Alvin, Simon and Theodore. And, of course, their wives Katrina, Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor." " ahem!" Eliza said. " and their kids…" ' We'll have introductions later. Come on in. It's too cold to sit out there." Marcie said. Later. " so, who are the kids?" Clyde asked. " I'm Tom! Son of Cash and Katrina and leader of the new munks!" " You? Ha! Yeah right! I'm totally leader." "You wanna go pinky?" " Bring it!" " And is you name pinky?" " Huh? No, it's Eliza. I'm Alvin and Brittany's daughter." " I'm Helen, ma'am. I'm Tom's little sister." " My name is Ben. I'm Theodore and Eleanor's son." ' And I'm Olivia, Ben's older sister." " And you?" Marcie asked Tony. " My name's Tony. I'm Simon and Jeanette's son." 'and you ma'am?" Clyde asked Vinny. " my name is Vinny. I'm Cash, Alvin, Simon and Theodore's mother." " and you?" " Xavier Franklin. The munks surrogate grandpa." " And I'm David Seville. The boys adoptive father." " And I'm Todd Bernstein. I'm the general manager for Chipmunk records." " Who's' he?' Clyde asked, pointing to the human Cash. " That's Cash diggs. He's the son of two of the munks friends. He's also Cash's God son and is named after him." " I see." ' so, Clyde. We're in town for a concert tomorrow." " Right, we heard." " Right, well. Think we could stay here for tonight and tomorrow night?"' OF course It'll give us time to catch up." ' thanks." " But, first, I want to see how well the kids sing."

New munks

Ho Ho Ho

Tom smiled. " Girls, we got this one." Tom said. HE motioned to Tony and Ben. " Ready?" " Yeah." " One two.." "Ho ho ho, and jingle jingle, bells are ringing all around. Snowflakes fall and lights adorn our very merry tinsel town. Ho ho ho and jingle jingle, Santa sits us on his knee, Christmas gifts lie patiently beneath our decorated tree. La la la la la la le. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah. It's the time to send a gift to those of us less fortunate." ' Grandpa, if Christmas is so merry, why did you say it makes you uptight?" " I never said that, Tommy." Dave said. " yes you did." " I don't need this from you, Benjamin." " You said you can't wait for it to be over and…" " Ho ho ho, Tommy, that's your line. Ho ho ho." " Ho ho ho, and jingle jingle, carolers sing merrily, presents promise happiness, if only temporarily. Ho ho ho and jingle jingle, grandma sends a baby truck. We are way to old for that, but grandpa tells us to suck it up. La la la la la lelup. Merry Christmas, happy Hanukah. It's the time to send a gift to those of us less fortunate." ' Like Cash grandma. Send us cash." " Tommy." " And no more trucks grandma." Ben said. "YEah!' " uh, shall we just stick to the lyrics I wrote, please?" ' aw, but your in a bad mood anyway and just be.." ' I am not in a bad mood." ' Grandpa, you always said to be honest with our feelings." Ben said. " So?" " Just admit that your.. Stressed." Tony said. " I am not stressed!" " Ho ho ho and jingle jingle, cars are honking constantly, giving grandpa headaches and increasing his anxiety. Ho ho ho and jingle jingle, grown ups seem to go berserk. Why are parents filled with doubt when Santa comes and does the work? La la la la la berserk." " Okay, hold it right there guys. This is not what I wrote. Ad, I never said to suck it up." " Yes you did." " Suck it up fellas. Just quit your whining and suck it up. That's what you said, grandpa." Ben said. " Can we just stick to the song?" " We're just trying to express our feelings. And just because we want ipods and cash and… and.. You don't understand!' ' oh, just suck it up, Tommy!' " Ha, ha, got ya!" ' Tommy…" " You are so busted." 'Tommy." ' ho, ho, just admit that…" ' TOMMMY!" " Ho ho ho, and jingle jingle, bells are ringing all around. Snowflakes fall and lights adorn our very merry tinsel town." " Oh yeah. Ohhhh. Oh yeeeeaaahhh." Tom finished. The other McNab's were laughing hysterically. " and that's exactly what their fathers used to be like." Dave said. " Let us try!" Eliza demanded. " Alright, go on." " Sun goes down…" Eliza started. " Oh no you don't young lady!' Dave said. " Start that and we'll have a Seville family rock duel on our hands… again!" Clyde ready to ask what the again was about, but Andy cut him off. " so, want to help us unpack and then go sightseeing?" ' uh… Oh, okay. Let's go." Later on. " And this is.." Clyde said, about to pull into the large cemetery. " let's skip this, okay?" "Patricia asked. " Why?" " Cause, Big cash has a problem with cemeteries. It's a phobia he has." ' Oh, and It'll freak him out to go in?" " Bingo." " Sorry." Cash said. " Nah, I understand. I don't like them either. What's say we go get some food instead?" " sure, I'm starving.' Alvin said. " Your in for a treat. We're gonna take you to where they make old fashioned Scottish food." " Like, Haggis?" Theodore asked. " We're not going to force anything on you." Meanwhile, four figures were watching. " I knew we'd them." one said. ' Quiet, Virgil!' another said. " I don't have to listen to you, your not oldest, Dante." " Will you both shut up?" the one girl asked. " Sorry Elizabeth." " We strike to night. Be ready." " Yes atticus."

New munks

One fear over another

Later that night, Cash and Katrina slept soundly. Nothing in particular on their minds, except for the concert tomorrow. They were so soundly sleeping, they didn't hear the window open. " So, we take her and they'll all come running?" Virgil asked. " Exactly. Now, let's go!' Dante said. They grabbed Katrina. " What the…' Katrina said once she felt the cold hands on her. " Ah, let go of me!" As they were getting her out the window, Cash awoke. " What?" Cash said. HE noticed what was going on and leaped out at them. He missed and they left. " CHIPMUNKS!" Cash screamed. Everybody came into the hall. ' What's going on?" Alvin asked. " It's the middle of the night, Cash." Brittany said. " Kate's been kidnapped. " What!?" ' Two guys snuck into our room and drug her out the window. I tried to stop them but… We need to find her. Get your weapons!" The munks took off into the night. Vinny and Dave, and of course the kids, along with all the other humans in the house, saw them leave and gave chase. " Cash!" Cash heard in his head. " Kate! Where are you?" " They've drug me into the big cemetery." "Damn!" " what?" Simon asked. " Kate's talking to me in my head. They took her to the cemetery." " Will you be alright?" " I hate cemeteries, but I'm more afraid of losing Kate. I'll sub one fear with another. Let's go!" " I have a bad feeling about this.' Helen said. " what do you mean?" Dave said. " I heard what dad said. This is just like my vision. Weird guys take mom, chase in a cemetery.. Just like my dream." " Then let's make sure we get there so doesn't end like the dream did." Tom said." Right!" after a bit, they stood before the massive gate of the cemetery and forced it open. Cash gulped and headed in. " Where?" He wondered out loud. As if she heard him, Kate sent out a psychic message." ' The church in the center." " Got it. Hang on babe. Follow me!" They charged to the church. They burst through the doors and there stood the four, along Katrina. " Alright, just give her back and you won't get hurt!" Cash said. " We can't do that." " Why not!?" ' Cause, then you'd leave and we figure the best place for you to die is in a graveyard." " What?" " I am Atticus. These are my brothers, dante and Virgil. And the middle child, our sister Elizabeth." ' that tone.. You can't be…" " We are. We are the children of the great vampire, Damien." " Well, what do you want? Wanna know where daddy is? We'll tell you. He's dead. And, you will be too if you don't let Katrina go." Alvin threatened. " No, what we want is for you to die!" ' Good luck. Your dad couldn't do us in and now we're older and wiser. You think you'll win?" Simon said. " Enough to this!" Virgil shouted. " Which one of you struck the killing blow on our father?" " Guess that would be me." Cash said. " And I'll do the same to you if you don't let go of my wife." 'wife hey? Dante, Virgil, take the bitch to the roof and throw her off!' Atticus said. The brothers took off. " Like hell!" Cash shouted. Atticus got in his way. " Get out of my way!" Cash shouted, slamming his fist into atticus and then continuing on." " Nell." tom said. " Let's go!" That left the others to deal with the last two." I am going to enjoy draining the very last drop from you." Elizabeth said, looking at Brittany. " Not this time." Meanwhile. " Daddy! Wait! Remember how my dream went!" Cash slowed. When they caught up, Tom said " Let's get them together." " Right. Then, my dream won't come true. Dad fought on his own there and .. But, with us with him." " That's the idea." tom said. " Let's quit jabbering and get to saving her already.' Cash said. " yes sir!"


	58. Chapter 58

New munks

Damien's legacy

" Look out!" Atticus had swung a large branch of a tree. The remaining munks fight with he and Elizabeth had spilled out back into the graveyard. Simon and Alvin were having there hands full with him. Eleanor and Brittany were busy with Elizabeth. Theodore and Jeanette took off to assist Cash. The humans wanted to get in and help, but Atticus had made sure, once they were outside again, to lock the gate. He had slammed a large rock in front of the gate, which could only be reached from the inside. This left the humans helpless. Only the kids had been fast enough to get inside. " Man, we never get the easy one, do we?" Alvin asked. " Less whine, more fight." Simon said. Unbeknownst to the two, Tony had gotten behind Atticus. He buried his staff in the back of Atticus's head. Seeing the opening, Simon proceeded to use his weapon like a hammer and pound Atticus the rest of the way to the ground. Alvin, as he had done with Damien before, pierced his sai through Atticus's hands and pinned him to the ground. " There, that ought to hold him." Alvin said. Unfortunately, Alvin spoke too soon. Atticus forced himself up, over the sai, then ripped the weapons out of the ground and threw them at munks. Simon spun his staff very quickly, effectively turning it into a shield. The sai ricocheted off and Alvin dashed to retrieve them. Simon and Tony proceeded to double team Atticus, rapidly striking him in any location they could. Meanwhile, Elizabeth was making the mother munks wish they had weapons of their own. Elizabeth, thanks to her vampire lineage, proved to have unbelievable strength. She chucked a huge stone at the girls. Eliza and Olivia shoved their mothers out of the way. " Let us handle her." Eliza said. " But.." Brittany stated. " We can't let anything bad happen to you, can we? Besides, your not armed." Eliza said. Brittany smiled. ' Putting herself in danger, to protect me.. Just like her father." " Ben, keep an eye on them." Olivia said. " got it." Ben stood his ground before his mother and Aunt, prepared to protect them if necessary. Elizabeth attacked. Olivia deflected the attack and Eliza legged swept her. " Libby." " Right!" Olivia crossed her tonfa turning them into a platform for Eliza to jump off of. Eliza did so and buried her sai into Elizabeth's shoulders on the way down. While she thought they had Elizabeth pinned, Eliza turned to Olivia and said " We have to think of a name for that one." " Uh, Liz." Eliza turned around. ' you've got to be kidding me." Elizabeth was standing, with the sai stuck in her shoulders. Eliza kicked Elizabeth in the stomach and then ripped her sai out when she bent over. Olivia slammed her tonfa into the back of Elizabeth's head. " And stay down!" But, Elizabeth got up again. " What is it going to take to keep you down!?" Eliza shouted. " Nothing you can do. The vampire power I received from my father is much stronger than anything you can muster." At this point, Atticus threw the male munks over towards her. " That's right. Our father's power keeps us strong." A sudden idea hit Alvin and Brittany at the same time. " Yeah, we know about your dad. We know he was a tough vamp, but what were your moms?" ' They were human." Elizabeth said. Alvin smiled. " Guys, let Britt and me handle this." Alvin said, standing. " what?" Simon asked. " Britt, you still remember it?" " Like it was yesterday." " Good." " what the heck are you talking about, dad?" Eliza said. " Simon?" ' Yeah/" "Remember the night Damien bit Britt?" " Like I could forget. Thank god Cash knew that Japanese spell to seal the vampire power." " Exactly."

New munks

Just as human

" what?" Simon asked. " That's what we need." Alvin said. " But, only Cash knows it." " I wouldn't say only he knows it." Brittany said. " What? Wait, you mean.' " Yup, in case of more vampires, Cash taught us. Now, how about we even the odds?" ' Keep them busy!' Alvin shouted as he and Brittany readied themselves. " that we can do!" Simon said. He and the others continued to battle the half vampires. Alvin cut his and then Brittany's index finger. ' cash said leaved a blood mark and use this spell on any vampire and it'll weaken them.' ' Right, I take Elizabeth and you get Atticus?" " Less you want to swap." ' Fine, I'll take Atticus." ' Whatever your going to do, do it now!' Tony yelled. They nodded and ordered the others to hold them the best they could. Once this was managed, they pressed their bleeding fingers into the brother and sisters necks, leaving a mark and said the spell. The dhamphir slumped and then looked up. " What did you do to us?" Atticus said. " Sealed away your vampire power. Now, your just as human as anybody else." Brittany said. Atticus clutched his hands and Elizabeth, her shoulders. " Hurts, doesn't it? Means your human now." ' Which makes it really easy to do this." Simon said as he and Tony slammed their Staffs into the duo's heads and knocked them out. " why didn't we think of that sooner?" Alvin asked. " well, we did have our hands full." " Right, only when you had time to think could you think of it." Simon said. " So, what now?' en asked. " we should let them in, for starters.' Eleanor said, pointing to their human comrades. " right." They walked up to the rock. "Simon, Ben, give me a hand with this." Alvin said. With some effort, they pushed the rock out of the way. ' okay, what is going on?" Clyde asked. Simon gave them the run down of what happened with Damien years ago, who these people were and what was now going on." ' You've got to be kidding me. Half vampire kids looking for revenge?" Marcie asked. " Don't sound surprised. I know it sounds crazy but, hey, we are talking, human like chipmunks. When taking our own existence into account, all of this really isn't such a stretch." Simon said.

They nodded. " So, what now?" Andy asked. " Now, we go to the church and help Cash.' Simon said. But, when they entered the church and found the way to the roof hey found it mysteriously locked. ' How do these guys lock these things after so many people get passed?" Alvin asked. HE was going to say something else when he heard Theodore. " Sounds like Theodore's fighting one of them. Must have locked it to keep the rest of us from getting up there and out numbering them." Simon said. " what now?" Dave asked. " WE try to force this thing. You go back down to the sanctuary."' And do what?" " What else? Pray. It is a church after all." " Alright." Vinny aid, leading the bunch. " Theo!? Can you hear us?" Alvin shouted. " Little busy right now, Al." Theodore returned. " Tell cash these guys are only half vampire. Use that spell to seal away vampire power, like the one he used on Brittany years ago, and they become just as easy to beat as regular humans." ' Jeanette!' " I heard him, Theodore! I'll go!" " Alvin, guide me through this. I could use that spell myself.' " alright, here's what you do.' Ten minutes later, they heard a click. Theodore opened the door up into the attic. " Well, that seemed to work, huh?' Alvin asked. ' huff, huff' yeah." " You look wore out." Eleanor said. " I am. Dante was tougher than he looked. But, I knocked him out quick once I used that Spell." " Now, let's hope Cash and the others can come through on their end." " Let's go make sure." " Right."

New munks

Hell hath no fury

The other munks, not admitting their own exhaustion from their battles, rushed forth to help Cash. They found Katrina laying unconscious and Cash currently locked in battle with Virgil. However, it seemed the battle wasn't going well for him. As his brothers made a move for him, their exhaustion from the exertion of their own fights made them collapse. " darn it, pushed our selves more than we needed to.' Simon said. Tom had apparently tried to assist, but was now laying next to Katrina, holding his arm. Jeanette was treating him. " Hold still, this'll only hurt for a minute." Jeanette said. She held his arm firmly and forced it back into the socket, as Virgil had dislocated it. " Jeanette!' Simon called ' oh my!' " What's going on?" She tried to explain. " Don't bother. We can guess. ' a whole mess of craziness right?" Alvin asked. " yes. First Cash fought him, then got knocked out. Then tom tried and got hurt like this. Helen's staying close to her mom.' " Let's ow!' Alvin said. " You've strained yourselves fighting the others." Eleanor said. " damn it! Why now?" " I guess we're getting to old for this." Simon said. " Old schmold! I'm only twenty seven. I can still kick…man, come on body, move!" " You've been wearing yourselves with the tour. You don't have energy you normally do." Tony said. " I guess all the traveling, only getting so much sleep each night and doing it over and over has worn you out. If this happened some other time…" " Okay, we get it Tony. If we want to be in the best butt kicking position, we can't be touring. Noted for future reference." Alvin said. Meanwhile, Cash was getting smacked around just as Helen had dreamed. He was trying to get close enough to use the spell, as Jeanette had told him, was having much luck. " Urgh!' Cash cried, getting everybody's, including Helen's attention. He was getting his hand crushed. " Daddy!' " Time to die, murderer." " No!" Helen cried. Virgil fell back wards. " What the hell?" " Not this time! I won't let you kill him!' Helen shouted. Her hair was flying wildly. Her eyes looked blank. " what the heck?" Eliza asked. " You kidnapped my mom, hurt her, and beat my brother and now you want to kill my dad!? ooooohhhh, I'm going to break you!" Helen said. All of a sudden, Virgil was in the air. The others noted that Helen's hand seemed to be guiding him around. " Is that!?" Alvin said. " Telekinesis." Katrina moaned. " Kate, you just woke up, stay down.' Jeanette said. " That was the new ability she said she felt developing. I see. Her anger at what he did to us triggered it." " So, we got a 'Carrie' moment here?" Alvin asked. " yes, basically." " Care to explain, dad?" Eliza asked. ' Let's put it this way. Hell hath no fury like a psychic chipmunk." Helen used her new found power to slam Virgil into the roof. She repeated this three more times. " Helen! Stop!" Cash cried. " You'll kill him!' " " Ah! I can't! Daddy, help me! I can't make it stop! I can't control it!" Cash looked to Virgil. " Can you hold him in one spot then?" " I think so." She forced Virgil into a stationary position. ' When I say so, Jeanette, I want you to hit Helen so hard it knocks her out." 'But cash, it's your daughter!' " Please, do what he says. It's starting to hurt! Ow! Make it stop. Why won't it stop?" " Alright." Cash performed the spell. " Now!" " Forgive me.' Jeanette said, striking Helen. " Oh god!' Jeanette said. " Don't worry, It was for her own sake. I never thought her power would be so strong that not even she could stop it once it's kicked into high gear." Kate said.


	59. Chapter 59

New munks

Go ahead and kill me

With Helen under control, Cash was free to do as he wished with Virgil. " What did you do to me?" " I sealed your vampire power. Your just human now." " I'm… I'm still. I'm still strong enough to kill you!" Virgil said, now struggling, due to his weakened and injured state. He rapidly tried to punch Cash. Cash blocked everything. Then, he struck him in the stomach. Virgil collapsed and looked up to Cash, who was tightly clenching his sword. " Go ahead! Prove me right. Prove you are a murderer. Kill me just like you did my father!' Cash stared at the young man, who looked no older than fifteen.. " Go ahead and kill me!" Cash sheathed his sword. " No." " What!?" " I'm not a killer." " But you killed my father!" " your father, was already dead." " I know he was undead but…" " No, he was dead to begin with. Some other vampire turned him when he was a corpse. Your father became a vampire after he was already dead." " Your lying!" " No, I'm not." ' I.. I didn't that. Then, that means you didn't technically kill him." " Can't kill what's already dead. Cash just sent him to where he belonged." Alvin said." But!" Virgil said, climbing to his feet. " I swore I'd kill the man who destroyed my father!" He attacked Cash again. Cash blocked all his attacks again. HE side stepped Virgil's last attack and knocked him off his feet. " you bastard!" He threw a punch at Cash. Cash grabbed it, twisted his hand around and forced him to his knees once more. Then, he kicked him over. " Augh! That won't finish me!' This time however, Cash used laido and had his sword a mere half inch away from Virgil's face. " Stop." Cash said. " I'm going to kill you!' Cash edged it even closer. Virgil could feel the point of the blade on the bridge of his nose. " I. Said. Stop." Virgil lowered his fist and waited for cash to lower his sword. Once Cash did, he attempted a sucker punch. Cash side stepped again and Virgil lost his footing and fell down. Cash pointed his sword at Virgil's chest. " Go ahead. Destroy me like my dad." " No." " If you don't kill me, I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you." Cash shook his head. " I pity you." " What!? Why?" " Look at yourself. Your thirst for revenge has made you blind. So blind that you keep attacking me, even after I explained to you that there is nothing to avenge and never was. You keep attacking, even though there's no point." " But you.." " I didn't kill your father. He was already dead when he became a vampire, it told you that. What killed him before that, who knows?" But, what did he do to you that made you destroy him? He wasn't bothering you!" " He attacked my sister Brittany over there and turned her. All just because my father, agito ikebana, and I stopped him from feeding on the town I grew up in. Just because we sealed him in a cave. He was immortal, Agito and thus the barrier he put up wasn't. Damien could have done anything else in the world after he was free, including spending time with his kids. But, he choose to come and attack Brittany, just to mess with me. And, nobody, but nobody hurts my family and gets away with it." " I.. I see. I didn't know." " Doesn't sound like a good dad to me. Going after people for flimsy revenge purposes, instead of pending time with his kids." Simon said. " Now that you mention it…" " Now, gather your siblings and go home." Cash said. " but…" "Go. Home." " I…" " how old are you?" Alvin asked. " I know how I look but, I'm actually thirty." " Got kids?' " Yes, a son." "Then, don't be like your dad. Don't be looking for revenge instead of being with your son." Theodore said. " I never thought about it.. Your.. Your right, actually. I've been lead on by attics. This whole thing was his idea. He never told us the whole story. Well, your right. I won't be like father. I am.. I am going to go home. I'll take atticus somewhere and leave him there, then I'll tell Elizabeth and Dante the truth. I can't believe we've been so stupid. I don't know what Atticus will do, so you may have to deal with him again.' " If it come s to that." " Well, alright. I guess I'll be going now. Uh. I know it sounds corny and weird to say after all this but uh.. Sorry for all the trouble. Um, have a good night." Then, he left. " Huh, well how about that? Turns out he was a good guy after all.' Theodore said. " Yeah, just a little misguided." Cash said. ' a little? The guy tried to freaking kill you!" Alvin said. " Yeah, but, was I so different when I first met you, Alvin?" " Well, you did seem to want to kill me." " Right, I was consumed and misguided by my rage then. Luckily for us, seeing you act as you did helped me change that. Just as this changed him."' "who knows? Maybe he'll us his powers to help people, or at least his family. Maybe even convince the others to do the same." Theodore said. " Only time will tell. ' yawn!' I'm tired." "Yeah, and we still got the show tomorrow. Let's get some sleep." Eleanor said. " Thank god we'll be home the day after tomorrow!' Brittany said. " I miss good old Hollywood right now." " well, let's get out of here before people start to notice a bunch of talking chipmunks on the roof of a church, let alone one in the middle a huge graveyard." Simon said. " Oh." Katrina moaned as she got to her. " You alright?" Cash asked. Katrina kissed him. ' That answer your question?" She asked. He smiled and nodded. " Tom, you alright kiddo?" "Just fine. Going to be swore in the morning though." " I think we all will." Simon said. "How's Nell?" Cash asked. " She's sleeping it off." Katrina said, holding her little girl in her arms. " I'm sorry I hit her so hard." Jeanette said. " It's alright. You had to. Didn't much other choice. Besides, it had to be you." ' Why?" " Well, if she's the new Jeanette, why not let the old one take care of her?" Cash joked. Jeanette looked puzzled. Nah, seriously, it's because I couldn't do it. I couldn't bring myself to hit her like that. She's my daughter after all." Cash said. " t had to be somebody who loved her enough to do, which I did, but could actually do it." ' Meaning mom and dad are out, and aunt's in, right?" Alvin asked. " Yup. Jeanette was the only one still able bodied enough to do it. Don't worry Jeanette. She may have a headache when she wakes up, but she'll be glad you did. She'll thank you, you'll see. Now, let's all turn in. ' yawn' it's been a long night." Cash said. ' Understatement of the year." Alvin groaned as they started to leave. Cash turned back to face the moon, which was full. " Thanks for watching out for us, dad." He said. Somehow, he felt that his father tom was staring back, smiling. The wind picked up for a moment and sounded like it said ' your welcome.'


	60. Chapter 60

_New munks_

_Waiting_

" _Come on Britt! We got to get a move on!" Alvin shouted. " Just a minute hon. I got to look good. This is the last concert of the tour, I have to look good." ' But, you always look good." " To you." " I give up." Alvin said, throwing his hands up. The munks were getting ready for the concert. The guys, ever ready to perform, were the first ones ready. The girls were taking their time. " Please, hurry up Jeanette!" " Just a minute." " Eleanor, how much longer?" "give me five more minutes." Cash, however, was not perturbed by Katrina taking her time. In all honesty, he wasn't even aware of it. Then again, he wasn't really aware of anything at the moment. He had never napped so much in his life, at least not in one day. After going back to bed last night around 2,Cash woke up at eight. After breakfast, he helped make a few preparations for the concert. Then, after lunch, which was served promptly at 12, he had fallen asleep. He didn't wake up until five that afternoon. Now, four and a half hours later, they were getting ready for the concert tonight at ten. Cash was drifting in and out, laying on the bed in his and Katrina's room, waiting for her. " Cash?" 'mmm?" " What looks better? This shirt, or this one?" " How should I know? I'm just a guy, not a fashion consultant." " As modest as ever." Katrina thought. " Ah, I love him anyways." she thought." Come on. Which one do you like more?" " What do you want from me? I'm just a guy." "Just pick one!" " Alright, alright. I like the one on the right." ' hmm, I was thinking the same. Thanks honey." " Not a problem." Sorry I'm taking so long." ' I don't mind." Later, Alvin had to start. " Phew, let me tell you ladies and gents, we were almost late. Cause, some certain some bodies had to take their sweet time to get ready!" " watch it Alvin, remember who lies in bed next to you tonight." Brittany said. Alvin gulped. " Y-yeah, but, you could have hurried up a bit." " Yeah, I was getting worried we wouldn't make it in time." Theodore said. " me too." Simon said. '" Cash? You agree?" " Huh? I didn't even notice. I don't really mind how long Kate takes to get ready." " Really?" " Oh yeah. I learned to be patient from an old man, just after we were married. I still remember that day." Tell us." Cash began to sing Brad Paisley's 'waitin' on a woman'. " Boy, it's just a fact of life. It'll be the same with your young wife. Might as well go on, and get used to it. She'll take her time, cause you don't mind, waitin' on a woman.' After admitting that they should be more patient, Alvin noticed Theodore staring absent-mindedly into the audience. " Something the " what's the matter, Theo?" " I was just looking at Libby." ' Aw! Daddy can't keep his eyes off his daughter." Alvin joked. " Yeah. I can't believe, she's going to be nine years old soon. Growing up so fast on me." " Ah, daddy." Olivia groaned. Cash began to sing again. This time it was Gary Allen's ' tough little boys'. When it got to the part that fit what Theodore had said, Theodore himself began to sing. " __Well I'm a grown man but as strong as I am. Well sometimes its hard to believe. How one little girl with little blonde curls, Can totally terrify me. If you were to ask, my wife would just laugh,She'd say, "I know all about men, And how tough little boys grow up to be Dads They turn into BIG babies again." After the concert, everybody was making their preparations to leave as soon as possible in the morning. ' Not that we don't enjoy your company, it's just our home is Hollywood and we're homesick." Simon said. "After last night, I don't blame you." Clyde said. _

_New munks_

_We're the chipmunks_

_Some hours after leaving Scotland. " Ah! The Hollywood skyline! I can feel my powers returning!" Alvin shouted. Brittany suppressed the desire to laugh at her husband's antics. " Remember Alvin, we have to get to the 'welcome back' concert as soon as we land." Todd said. "If it's a welcome back for us, why do WE have to perform?" Alvin shouted. 'technically speaking, the tour isn't really over until we do this concert." Simon said. " Don't worry, Alvin. Just do an intro song, take requests and then premier the Disturbia video and then you can go home." Todd said. " 'tsk' fine. There better be a huge crowd though." " I think there will be." Upon landing. " There it is. I'd know that plane anywhere." Jason said. " They're getting off." Harry said. All the munks 'extended family' were gathered to meet them. But, the munks passed by them like they didn't even see them. Dave, Xavier and Vinny were the only ones to notice them. ' Dave!' Jason shouted. " Oh hey! We'll be up in a sec." minute later. ' Okay, why did they just blow us off?" " They didn't. It's just they've got the return concert to get to. If they don't rush, they'd never here the end of it from Todd." " Well, that makes sense." " Everything alright?' ' Eh, nothing we can't handle." ' Guys?" " Oh, hey Juliet, hello Kathy." " Hi Mr. Seville." " Please, call me Dave. What's the matter Juliet?" ' None of you have seen Jesse have you?" " No, can't say we have." Jason said. " Why?" "He went out last night and didn't come home. He called to say he was alright this morning but still hasn't come home. Kathy and I are getting worried." " you want us to go look for him?" " Well, if you would. But, enjoy the show for now." " Alright. I hate to bug Cash and the guys about it, since they just got back, but once it's over, I'll see if they'll help." ' thank you." " Hey, we're all one big family, basically. We're happy to do it." Heather said. ' Well, let's get going." Jason and gang sat down in front. When a familiar beat started playing, Jason looked to Dave. ' Man, you'd think this would be done to death by now." ' Just listen.' Jason did. He heard something different. " Wait, it can't be.' ' Yup." " Remix!" the eight rose up from inside the stage. " Do do, dododo. Do, do, dododo. Do do, dododo." Cash started, one last time, in the DJ booth. " Watch out ( watch out) cause here they come now." ' Ain't see us in a while, but we bringing it back with style, so get.." " Get set ( get set) To have some fun now." ' We bring the action, and the satisfaction." " We're the chipmunks ( Everybody say it now) C-h-i-p-m-u-n-k. We're the chipmunks ( Show'em how it's goin down) Guarnteed to brighten your day!" ' Do, do dododo( Go, go go go) Do do do do do ( Come on come on come on,)." ' Everybody rock out!" ' rock out ( Rock out) we're here to party! " When you got the munks with cha, it's best to go loud or leave, so.." " Get loud ( Get loud) let's get it started.' " If ya came cause ya love the munks, then everybody let me see ya jump, come on!" ' we're the chipmunks ( everybody say it now) comin stronger than ever before. We're the chipmunks( show'em how it's goin down) rockin it, harder than before." " Do, do, do do do ( Go go go go) Do do do do do ( Come on come on come on)." We're a band and family, loyal as can be. Together we'll be happy, singing on our knees. But, when we know your listenin', we sing with extra spunk, the higher our voices get, the happier the munk." " Yeah come on!" ( Guitar solo) " we're the chipmunks ( Everybody say it now) Coming on stronger than before, we're the chipmunks ( Show'em how it's goin down) Rockin forever more!"_

_New munks_

_Disturbia_

_Jason had to admit, he liked the new remix. It was longer and fitted how they had evolved. After requests, Alvin turned to the giant screen behind himself, acting like he had never seen it before. " Hey, Simon?" " yeah?' " What's this?" " That's a screen, Alvin." ' I know that Einstein. I mean, what's it for?" ' Why, we're going to premier our tribute to the lovely Rihanna tonight." " Tribute?" " You know, the music video." " Oh, yeha, now I remember." ' Sometimes, your hopeless." ' What was that!?" " You heard me." Cash and Katrina turned to the audience. ' Hard to believe they're fathers, huh?" They asked. The audience laughed. " well, before Simon and Alvin start killing each other, let's rap this up. Here it is, in public for the first time since being made, our music video and rendition of Rihanna's 'disturbia'." Theodore said. " Roll it, Cash!" Eleanor called to the boy in the DJ. " Yes ma'am!" The video started rolling. " Oh this is great. We're out of gas." Alvin on the screen said. " Yeah, and why did it have to give up in such a creepy place?" Theodore asked. " who cares? How are we going to get to the show?" " Anybody seen the girls?" Cash on screen asked. " They were in the car behind us." Simon said. ' So, where's the car?!" " Where are they?" " Bum bum be-dum bum bum be-dum bum." " What was that?" " What's wrong with me?" " Huh? Girls?" " why do I feel like this?" ' Girls?" I'm going crazy now." ' Okay, girls, this ain't funny." Cash said. The girls appeared, but not as they normally looked. "What's wrong with them?" Theodore asked." No more gas in the rig, Can't even get it started , Nothing heard, nothing said, Can't even speak about it, I'm a light on my head, Don't want to think about it, Feels like I'm going insane, Yeah. It's a thief in the night, To come and grab you, It can creep up inside you, And consume you, A disease of the mind, It can control you, It's too close for comfort." Suddenly, a strange shadow shout from nowhere and struck Theodore. He changed, similar to the girls. " Theodore!" " Let' get out of here! Before whatever got them, get's us!" Alvin shouted. After a while, the song was winding out. Cash was all that was left. His brothers and sisters were hunting him down. As they and the strange shadow's swarmed, he snapped up in bed. " 'huff huff' " " Cash?" ' Wha!?" " Relax honey, it's just me. What's the matter?' " Oh man. Babe, I just had the weirdest dream." " well, it was just a dream. Now, try to get some sleep. We got to get up early for the show tomorrow. Got a long way to go to get there." " right, night." Katrina lowly turned to look into the camera, while saying" That's right, just a dream. Sure, a dream." An evil smile came across her face and it faded to black. " Woohooo!" was what the crowd, amongst other things, were shouting. The munks said good bye and headed home. They all met up at Xavier's later on, after getting settled back in at their own houses. ' Woo! We rock!" Alvin shouted. As they prepared a toast. ' Man, is it good to be home." Brittany said. ' amen.' Katrina added. " So, will that be all, Xavier?" James asked. " yes, that's plenty, James. You and Geneva can go ahead and go out and do what you want. Here's a little walking around money." " I expect this is our holiday bonus." " That and a little extra. To say I'm sorry I forgot to give it to you before we left." ' thank you sir." ' Now, go ahead." ' Sir!" " Oh, hello Lady Juliet, lady heather and Master Jason." They heard Geneva say. " Don't forget about the young master Cash and Miss Kathy." James said. " Hey guys. They in there?" " yes sir. Now, if you'll excuse us." " Hey guys."_

_New munks_

_Trouble waiting_

" _Sup Jason?" Cash said. " Not much." Everything been good?" " " Yeah. After that one incident, everything's been relatively quiet." " Well, that's good." " You get the label patched up?" Alvin asked. " yeah. Got to hand it to Harry. From what I heard, he handled it pretty well. And I really got to handle it to his kids and Frankie, for taking it to Frankenstein like they did." ' And we'll love to hear this tomorrow. But, for now, we just want to chill." Alvin said. " Long trip?" ' you have no clue." " Here she is Kate!' heather shouted. ' Give her to me!' " Hey, hold on." ' just let me hold her." 'Okay, okay." " hi, Ginger. My name's Katrina. I'm you god mommy. You know, you got my middle name?" Katrina said. Kathy pulled on Cash's shirt." Oh, hey Kathy." he said. "Cash., Um..." ' what?" " Jason?" Juliet asked. ' right.' ' Trouble?" " Not sure. Care to explain, Julie?" " Well, see, Jesse went out last night and didn't come back. He called this morning to say he was alright, but still hasn't come home. Said he had something important to do." " I saw him leave with a gun and a bunch of silver colored round things." Kathy said. " silver bullets?" Simon asked. " A werewolf in town again?" " Not possible, I'd know." " Larry." Juliet said. " I followed you. I felt something was wrong and you weren't telling me." " sorry. I just didn't want to bother you." " Juliet, he's my son." " And my brother." " Jessica, I told you to stay home." ' Like I'm going to miss this." " 'sigh' just stay out of trouble then." " yes sir." ' you were saying, Larry?" Jeanette asked. ' I said, If there was a were-wolf, I'd know." " Something else maybe? Maybe he got wind of something and thinks it's a werewolf?" Theodore asked. " Maybe." ' Guys, Julie and Kathy want to know if you'd help us help them find them?" heather asked. " Of course." They all said. ' Man, just when we think our troubles are over." Alvin complained. " If we could handle this on our own..' Juliet said, breaking down. ' Please! We're really worried.' Kathy begged. Cash knelt in front of her. " Don't worry, We'll find him, right guys?" ' yeah." Alvin said. ' But you said..." ' Oh, don't worry, I'm all about finding Jesse." " He's just cranky when he's tired. We'll find Jesse, you have my word." " You all looked wiped. Why don't you sleep first?" Ring. " Jesse!" " Hey honey. I won't be home tonight either." " Are you hunting a werewolf!?" " How'd you guess." ' Cash took the phone. " Jesse, it's Cash. Where are you?" " Sorry Cash. I swore I'd take this one myself. I've tried to protect your kids, but I always fail.. And, I know this is a werewolf. Werewolves are my family's problem. Just let me handle this. Give the girls my love." " Jesse!? Damn it! No time for sleep. Jesse's got it in his head to do this alone. He said he didn't feel right about asking us to help, cause he thinks it's a wolf and that's a Talbot's problem. And, he's bummed about the fact that every time he's tried to protect our kids, he's failed, or so he thinks. Damn it. It's a pride issue for him.' " Well, he'll have to suck it up, cause we're finding and helping him, whether he likes it or not." Alvin said. " Right!" " gather what you need at home and then let's get going." " Xavier, you mind keeping the kids here?" Simon asked " OF course We don't mind. right Vinny?"" Of course, you just be safe." ' Will do. Let's go."_


	61. Chapter 61

New munks

That's not a werewolf

" You guys find anything?" Cash asked Alvin over the phone. As when they were looking for Frankenstein, they had split up over the city. " No, sorry. Britt and I must've searched this place top to bottom. There's no sign of him. We'll spread out a bit farther and keep looking though." ' Alright, cool." " You find anything Ely?" Katrina asked Eleanor on the phone. " No. Not a lick. We'll keep looking." " Okay." " Simon? Please tell me you've got good news.' " Actually yes." " Spill." ' We're at a bar. The bartender said he did see Jesse a hour ago. Came in for a coke and used the bathroom. Said Jesse talked about going to the forest." " Forest? Which one?' " judging from what he told me, I think it's the same one that you and Ken fought Ian in." " Man, I had forgotten about that place. Hmm, I think Andy is close to there. I'll have him hunt him down and keep him there till we get there." 'Assuming he's still there." ' He better be." "Alright, we'll see you there." With in ten minutes of the call, Andy was in the forest, looking for Jesse. " Jesse! Jesse where are you!? It's me, Andy!" "Andy?' " There you are." " go away." " No way in hell. I got my orders. I'm staying and you are too.' " But.." " Jesse, everyone is worried about you." " I know but.. I just feel so useless in a fight. I thought, if I could bag this thing myself, I'd become a better fighter." ' No offense Jesse, but that has to be the bloody stupidest thing I've ever heard. And, I've heard some things in my time. How tough you are in a fight is not based on your training, or how many bad guys you've beaten... Okay, some of it is. But, what really makes you tough is your own courage. How far your willing to go for those your trying to protect. That's why Cash is as strong as he is. He's willing to go to hell and stare the devil in the face for his family. You see?" " I think so..' You!" They heard Cash yell. He walked straight up and slugged Jesse. "you idiot! what's wrong with you?!" Alvin yelled. ' And I was just getting through to him.." Andy mumbled. " If you ever pull this again.. Let's just say you'll never run into a werewolf that could do the kind of damage we would." Brittany said. "Did you even think of how Kathy and Juliet might feel? Juliet's your WIFE! And, Kathy.. Your all she's got." Katrina said. " I... I'm sorry. Your right. My pride got the best of me. You, and Andy, are exactly right. I'm sorry." " Your damn straight we're right!" Brittany said. " Now, where is this stupid thing, so we can take care of it and go home?" Alvin asked. " Over there, near the river." ' got it." "okay, I'm no expert in monsters but, I know that isn't a werewolf." Alvin said. " What is that?"" If it's a werewolf, it's the oddest looking wolf I've ever seen." Andy said. " it looks kind of like a turtle." Theodore said. " I know what it is." Cash said. " What?" The others asked. ' It's a kappa." " A what?" Alvin asked. " If I remember the Japanese mythology book I read once, a kappa is a river demon. They like to eat cucumbers, but prefer human flesh. They wait for unsuspecting victims to swim in the river or walk along it's banks and then reach up and pull them under. Then, I'm not sure if they beat them or drown them, but they eat the victim once they are dead." Simon said" Cucumbers are a diversion. The idea was that if you wrote a person's name into a cucumber and then threw it into the river, the kappa would eat it instead." Cash said. " that's great and all, but two questions. One, what in the world is a Japanese demon doing here?! And two, how do we get rid of it? I think this river flows back into town and if that thing would follow the stream, There would be a lot of missing persons cases popping up." Alvin said.

New munks

Thank God, he was raised Japanese

" Oh, kappa's are easy to take care of.' Cash said. " but, I read that they are very strong. More than capable of out muscling a man.' Simon said. ' yeah, but they have a weakness." ' Which is?" " see that plate like thing on it's head?" ' Yeah." ' That's where it keeps it's water. See, kappa's are mostly water-faring creatures. They need to store water in that built n pitcher in order to stay hydrated and strong. So long as there is water in there, the Kappa is free to move on land and has as much strength as it does in water." " So, short version, spill the water and it can't move or really do anything?" Theodore asked. " exactly." " Yeah, well, I think we have a problem. I think that it would b fully aware of that little fact and won't make it easy for us to spill it's water." Alvin said. " Oh yes it will." " What makes you say that?" Simon asked. " you let me handle this." Cash said, with a smile that hinted that what he was about to do was going to be really funny. He got up and approached the beast. " Hey, gruesome!" The creature turned around. " Ever have talking chipmunk?" The creature lurched towards him. " It's going to eat him!" Theodore freaked. " Let's get him!" Alvin said. " Wait, Cash must have a plan and I don't think letting himself get eaten is part of it.' Andy said. " what is that husband of mine up to?" Katrina asked, her and the girls curiosity finally the best of them. ' Just watch." As the creature lumbered closer to him, Cash bowed deeply. The creature stopped and then returned the bow. They saw a smirk sneak across Cash's face. The water was pouring out of the creature's head, but it kept bowing. Once the last drop spilled, it fell over. Then it began to shrivel. Eventually, it looked like an over sized raisin. Cash went and picked it up. He smacked it into a tree. " thought so. Dead as a door nail." " Wha...?" Alvin said as the group approached Cash. " Kappa's follow a strict code of ethics. If somebody bows before them, they have to return it. The deeper you bow, the deeper they bow." "And that tricks them into spilling all their water." Simon said. ' Yup. And, when they have absolutely no water left in there, they shrivel up and die. This sucker's only good for decoration or something now." " impressive." Andy said. " Eh. It's easy. Now, kitsune are different. Those little bastards can change shape and even posess people. Man, i remember..." He looked up. His family was staring at him.' uh, never mind." " More from Agito?" Katrina asked. " Bingo, dear." " What's a kitsune?" Theodore asked. ' a fox spirit." ' Oh, like the one in naruto?' ' Smaller. about the size of regular fox's. They like to do what they can to reek havoc. Just for kicks."' How do they posses people?" ' I care not to say." " Come on!' Alvin demanded. ' Okay, if you really want to know. They really only posses women. And... They have a unique way of entering the body." " How?" " Well, they either get in by going under the fingernails or through a woman's.. Uh.." he pointed to his chest. " Through those?!" Brittany said. "yeah. I said it was interesting." " Naughty is more like it." Eleanor said. " Well, i suppose." " Suppose!?" " I'll just shut up now." " Well, that good enough for you, Jesse?" Alvin asked. ' Yeah." " Good, now go home." Alright. See you later." Cash stared at the creature. " what's the matter?" Katrina asked. " This symbol on it's head. I know I've seen it before." " well, how about you sleep on it? Let's go home." " Right." " Ah, yes, sleep. Finally!" Alvin said. The others shook their heads. " that's my Alvin." Brittany said.


	62. Chapter 62

New munks

Suit up

A day or so later, life was back to being as normal as it could be for the Seville family. The kids had gotten into it again with Harry's kids. Rex and Tom had even given each other a black eye. Rex said ' I didn't know the stuck up could hit that hard." Eliza spent the next day meticulously picking over every inch of her hair, trying to see if Roxy had pulled any out in their little tussle. " If she did, I swear I'm gonna kill her." But, other than this petty squabble with rivals, everything was normal again. Today found Simon working in his lab, while Jeanette went around the house to make sure everything was as they had left it. Tony was shooting pool. " Hey dad?" " Yes?" ' What are you up to anyways?" " I'm making some upgrades for Andy's suit. I was going to do it before we left, but I didn't get the chance. A little heat resistant armor plating for the chest and hands." " And what are these?" ' Oh those? Those are jet boots I was developing before you were born. I had forgotten I had put them up, until I dug them out yesterday. I've been tinkering with them, improving them.' 'For Andy?" " No. Just feel like it. I put a lot on hold when I became a father." ' Sorry?" " Don't be. Your the creation I'm most proud of." ' Ah dad. Oh, what's this?" " That is a sonic disrupter." ' Okay and?" " I emits a high frequency sound wave. IT can make a building collapse straight down the middle, if aimed properly and turned up high enough. Planning on giving it to the construction industry, so they can use it to safely to tear downs buildings. Using explosives is out of date and far more dangerous than using this." " I think." Simon thought. " That or turning it over for the fire department's use. If set high enough, it can put out powerful fires, quickly. A lot faster than using a hose and everything." " Cool. Could you mount it onto a gauntlet or something for an individual to use?" " Actually, already thought about it. That's what these notches are for. I was planning on having Andy help me test it." "So, that's why there are three armored gloves." ' Exactly. This one's to mount the disrupter." " You are amazing dad." " I know." "Simon." Jeanette called. " I'll be right back. Go ahead and surf the net if you want." " Okay." After ten minutes, Simon had yet to return. Tony had found his helmet from his Halloween costume. He had been Iron man and Simon had actually made this helmet for him. Then he found the prototype to the Prometheus suit. " I bet I could wear this." Tony said. So, he slipped it on. ' Fits like a glove." He turned on the TV, hoping to find MTV or something on, so he could have some music to play superhero to. Unfortunately, or so he thought, the news was on. Now, Tony liked watching the news, but not when he wanted MTV. Just as he was about change it, there came a report. " This just in! There's a large fire at... Fire fighters on scene say they believe there are people inside, but the flames are too intense to attempt a rescue. At this rate, they fear.." " Those poor people." He looked to the armor Simon had been making. " hmmm." he put on the chest piece, and then the gloves and mounted the sonic disrupter on the one made for that. Then, he strapped on the jet boots. " Let's hope this works." He turned on the boots and began to hover. ' yes! Okay, let's try this." He hovered over to the window. He opened it and flew out of the basement. " Now, let's get to the emergency! Let's try flight!" Upon arriving, the people around stared at him. " Who are you?" A familiar firefighter said. ' Dylan?" Tony thought.. " Um.. I'm.. Iron munk!" " Well, what do you want?" " I'm here to help."

New munks

Tony: one time superhero

Tony saw the flames. Then it dawned on him exactly what he was doing. " what's wrong with me?! I'm no superhero!' Then he heard the screaming of the people trapped inside. " somebody help us!" " Oh jeez! I might not be a superhero, but that's what these people need. And, 'gulp' I guess I have to give them one." Tony thought. " Hang on! I'm coming!" He flew in through a busted window. " Alright, everybody climb on!' he said to all near by. He made several trips. The crowd was cheering. Tony was beginning to enjoy this. Once he had everybody out, he decided to give the sonic disrupter to good use, He turned it on and set it to setting five. No good. Seven. Some reaction. So, he turned it to nine out of twenty. Bingo. The flames started dying. " I didn't know that you could actually do this. Leave it to dad." Tony thought. Once the flames were out, he went back outside. " Phew.' He said. " It's over." " Who are you?" a reporter immediately said. ' I'm Iron munk. But, my first outing is my last. man, that was more intense than I thought it would be." " how'd you put out the fires?" " secret tech in my suit." " Come on, please/" " Sorry. Top secret." Dylan thought he could make out a familiar voice out from underneath the muffling effect of the helmet." Simon?" Dylan thought. " no, too short. Gotta be..." Dylan smirked to himself. " more like his uncles than his father." Dylan thought. " Uh, hate to burst your bubble, iron munk, but you missed a spot." A bystander said, pointing to fire. It looked kind of odd. " I'll get it." He flew back in. " This should be easy enough." Then he saw the flame. " Is it.. Moving? It looks like it's flying. That doesn't make sense." The flame seemed to notice him. " Hm, this could be what started the fire. If I don't take it out, it could spark the fire again. Sorry whatever you are, but moving or not, your going down." He tried to blast it with the disrupter. " what the?" He turned it up as high as he felt was safe. " It's not working! What is this thing?! A magic fireball?" he retreated outside. " You got a hose hooked up?" " yeah, why?" " Something's up with this last bit of fire. I can't hit it with my.. Uh.. Fire putter outer thing." " I hate acting stupid." Tony thought. " Give e the hose. Maybe some good old fashioned water will kill it. I think it's what started the inferno. If we don't.." " Well here then.' Tony took the hose and flew up to the window. He aimed and waved to turn on the water. With in one minute of hitting it with the water, the strange fireball was out. " well, whatever it was, it's dead now. All's clear." " Please, ell us who you are.' a rescued victim said. " I told you, I'm iron munk and this is my first and last time doing this. But hey, maybe I'll be back if there's another emergency that needs my assistance. Uh.. Then again. Um... Well, see ya!" Tony took off. He then clomped down on a roof top some three blocks away. He took off the helmet. " Phew. Forget the maybes, I am not doing that ever again! And, what was with that fireball? O well. Best to just go home now." Meanwhile, Dylan had beat him to the punch. He had checked in on the other munks, just to be sure of Iron munks identity. They ended up following him to Simon's. " Hello Jeanette.' Dylan said when she answered the door. " is Simon home?" " yes. Simon." " Yes, Dylan? What do you want? Huh? What's everybody doing here." " That's what we're trying to find out." Tom said. " Do you know where Tony is?" Dylan asked. " Well, he should be in the basement." " Simon! He's not there!" Tony sneaked into his room and took everything off. HE eased down the stairs. " Uh, what's going on?" " Tony, you do know it's dangerous to play around in a fire right?' Dylan asked. " Huh? What do you mean?" He picked up the nearby TV remote and turned on the set. " And in breaking news... Iron munk he calls himself.... He swears " Never again. First and last time.'... Is he connected to the chipmunks? Perhaps a new body guard or is there some other chipmunk group at work? Kerry Law, a victim of the fire, had this to say. " I don't know who he was but, God bless him. It takes a certain type of man to do what he did. And, that's a hero. My kids and I are just really thankful he was there. And, even if he doesn't come back, I thank God on high he was here this once when we need him. Thank you, Iron munk." " Well, seems what you did was really appreciated. But, next time, let us firefighters handle it." Dylan turned to leave. ' and Simon?" he said, looking over his shoulder. ' Yes?" " You got one courageous son there. Try to keep him out of trouble, okay?" " Okay." Tony gulped. His parents looked at him. " Anthony Oliver Seville." Jeanette said. " I know, I know, on the couch.' Tony hung his head and headed into the den. " Hey, aunt Jeanette?" Tom asked. " what?" " Before you tear into Tony for whatever he did being dangerous, think about this. Judging from the news, if he hadn't done whatever he did, those people they showed, all happy and what not, wouldn't be alive right now. Just think about it. Let's go Nell.' " Okay." Tom and Helen lead the pack out and back to their respective houses. Simon and Jeanette looked at each other. " What he did was dangerous. An, if e used what I think he did, he sued equipment I made that was still experimental. That was dangerous too." " yes, but.. Tom was right. He did save all those people. We have to give him credit for that." " Yeah but.. 'sigh', I wonder were he gets the guts." ' Gee. I can't imagine" Jeanette joked, touching Simon's hand. " Um, I'll just go ahead and go to my room and work out my own punishment. I think no TV for a few days and no dinner tonight is fair. Later." " Tony, wait." Simon said. " you not going to be punished. Just, promise you won't do that anymore, ok?" Tony smiled. ' okay." " well, speaking of dinner, I'll go get it started." Jeanette said. She kissed Tony's cheek and went on. " So.." Simon said. " Yeah?" " how did the armor pieces hold up?" " Great. Didn't really feel any of the heat. If they could take that, I think they'll serve Andy pretty well." " And the disrupter?" " How'd you know I took that?" ' How else could the fire be put out as fast they showed?" " It was impressive. Had to turn it up to nine but after that, was easy. The jet boots work really well too. Just one thing." What's that?" ' There was this one fireball. I couldn't put it out with the disrupter. And.. Call me crazy, but.. It looked like it was flying. Moving around on it's own." " A free moving fire ball?" " it wouldn't go out no matter how high I turned the disrupter. I turned it up as high as I felt safe and it still didn't work. Only when I turned a hose on it did work." " Hmm. Hold on." Simon called Cash. " what now?" Cash asked. " Here, ask Uncle Cash about what you saw." Tony did. " Hmmm. First that Kappa the other day and now a hinotama." " Hinotama?" Simon asked. " A Japanese fire spirit. It looks exactly like a hovering fireball." " What's with all these japans mythological creatures popping up around Hollywood?" " Not a clue. Wait, ask Tony did he see a weird symbol on the fireball. " He said yes. Some weird Japanese character." " Hmm. if it's the same one, the hinotama today and the kappa the other day could be connected. I know I've seen that symbol before, but it still hasn't come to me where. I'll keep thinking." " Okay. Bye."


	63. Chapter 63

New Munks

Where?

" Where have I seen that symbol? Where?" Cash was up pondering this question. ' Cash? Are you coming to bed soon sweet heart?" Katrina asked. " just a second, dear." " Oh, not again. Let's go kids, I'll tuck you in." Five minutes later. " Cash?" Cash became aware of a soft handle on his shoulder. He craned his head up to look at his wife. " Come to bed, please." " Just as soon as I.." Katrina grabbed his head and kissed him. ' I love you, you know?' ' Yeah." ' That's why I married and had our two great kids with you." " I know. So, where are you going with this?" " I'm saying I'm worried about you. I know that look. You had it when you were all worried over Frankenstein." " But, Kate..." ' But Kate nothing. The last time you concentrated like this, you almost had a nervous breakdown. Who's to say you won't fully have one this time? I'm worried about mental and physical well being and all your probably thinking on..." Katrina began to cry. " Hey hey. stop that. Look, look. I'm done, I'm done. Let's go to bed." Cash then got up and headed up. Katrina had a mischievous grin. ' waterworks, gets him every time. I hate to be sneaky, but he's not cracking up on my watch." The next morning however, Cash was back at it. HE was pouring over every book of Japanese characters he had. " no, no, no. It's none of these. Wait, maybe it's not a symbol for a name. Yeah! Now I remember! It was the character for somebody's name, but who?" " Cash, you have a call." " " Who is it dear?" " Simon." " alright. Hey Sy." " HEy Cash. Listen, I remembered something." ' Well that's great. I'm not doing so great. Any news would be helpful." " Well, I think it will really only deepen the mystery." " Eh, lay it on me anyways." ' well, that building that Tony dressed up to save, I remembered something about it." " What?" " Well, it's been remodeled but, I know the address. IT was the same building that was on fire when the guys and I were kids. The day we got the fire department for career day. What got Alvin interested in starting our own chipmunk fire department. I think I told you this before." 'Yeah, I recall you telling me about it. Are you sure it's the same spot?" " Absolutely. The look of the place changed, but not the address. It's definitely the same one." " Hmmm, and the Hinotama Tony saw appeared there. And, the kappa appeared in the forest where Ken and I were tied together. Hmm." ' Think it's another connection?" " Probably just coincidence, but considering the over all weirdness of all this, let's not write it off. Who knows? Maybe whatever is behind all this is targeting places that we've been." " What would have such a grudge against us to attack places we've been to from so far back?" " No clue. But, I think it'll be blown wide open once I can figure where I've seen that symbol. I just remembered that it was a character for somebody's name. I'll start trying to remember who." " Alright. Well, I got to take Tony to the bookstore. Talk to you later." ' See ya. Send my love to Jean and Tony." " Will do." " What's the matter?" " More questions than answers. The place the fireball Tony dealt with appeared at? It was the same place that the guys went to with the fire department years ago. They had it for career day. It was on fire then too." " and, the kappa thing appeared where you and Ken fought Ian." " Now your getting it. If these things keep popping up in places we've been, where could they pop up next?" " Who knows?' ' That's the problem. Nobody does. And, they aren't just limited to places we've been to recently. Man, any place we've been could be in danger." ' But, it's been days since the fire. Not another incident." Ring.

New munks

Tengu

" Hello?" " Cash! It's Jay. Something's up at the park. This thing came outta nowhere." ' Slow down. What are you talking about?' " This weird looking bird like thing just showed up." "A tengu? Well, just get away. They only want to cause trouble.." " Cash, it took Ginger and Cash!" ' What? But.. No, that fits a tengu's M.O. Okay, listen, sit tight and I'll be there real soon." " Thanks man, I figured you'd know what to do.' " No more incidents huh?" Cash asked Katrina. " I don't what's going on, but I want in dad." Tom said. ' no, Tom. This thing carried off Cash and Ginger." " Okay, now I really want in." " I aid no." " But.." ' Thomas!" ' Dad, Cash is my best bud, next to Tony and Ben. We're like brothers, you know how that feels." " Yeah, I do but.." " But I'm your son and my safety takes priority and yada yada yada. But dad, you gave me this sword to protect myself and my friends, just like you. Well, are you going to let it serve it's purpose or what?" " Your not going to take no for an answer are you?" " I'd find a way there if you left me here.' " alright. But you stick close and keep your guard up." ' Yes sir." on the drive over. " Dad, what's a tengu like?" " It's big bird-like man creature." " and what it's M.O?" " Normally they snatched up priests and such, because they were enemies of Buddhism. They usually dropped these preists at the tops of tall trees. They even possessed women and young girls in order to corrupt the preists. But, they never full on kidnapped a girl. At some point they started kidnapping boys along with preists, but the boys were usually retuned shortly after being taken. But, since it took Ginger and tengu aren't known to take infants, we can only assume this one is rouge." " so what's the plan? Find it, kick it's butt and save the day?" " No, i was thinking of tricking it." " how?" " You know those bamboo sticks I threw in the back before we left?" ' The ones you usually decorate the dojo with? Yeah, i saw." " Well, here's the plan. See, there's one story of a young boy pretending an ordinary piece of bamboo was a great telescope, letting him see anything. A curious tengu trades him his magic cloak for the bamboo. So, if we pretend those sticks are something great, the tengu could be willing to trade the kids for them." " And if that doesn't work?" " Then we kick it's butt." " O yeah!" " But, let's try my way first. Oh, and don't be thrown if it starts talking. Tengu are some of the few Japanese monsters, also called yokai, that can do that." " Okay." they soon arrived and took the sticks out. " Where is it?" Cash asked Jason. " Up in that tree." " Okay, Tom, you know the plan." " Right." They walked out to where they would be noticed. ' wow dad! This is amazing!" " what's that?" " I can see for miles with this magic stick! Ah cool, i can see the baseball game going on all the way down town. And there's the pitch and.. Yes1 Home run!" " Really? Let me try mine... Wow is right! I can even make out the number of the guy. Number nineteen. Go man go!" The Tengu jumped down, still holding onto the kids. Cash Diggs looked thoroughly freaked out. But, at lest the tengu had let him hold Ginger." Hey, you two tanuki! What do you have there?" " Tanuki?" Tom asked quietly. " It thinks we're Japanese raccoon spirits. Just play along." " Okay."

" well, my good tengu, we have a pair of magic sticks. Let's us see things so far away.. It simply stupifys me." ' Let me have them!" " Et! We paid good money for these. But, tell you what, if you give us the human children we'll give you these sticks." " It's a deal! Go on!' The tengu prompted the kids.

New munks

Break through

" Now, give me the sticks! We had a dea. Keep your end of the bargain! I know you Tanuki never pay your debts, but you will not out wit me." " I wouldn't dream of it. A lowly tanuki like me is no match for a great lord of the skys like you." Cash said. Tom was impressed with his father's acting. But, he was fighting to stay in character, because he couldn't believe how stupid this bird-man was. As Cash approached the creature, ready to give up the sticks, Tom noticed it's forehead. He pulled on Cash shirt. ' Wiat dad." ' What?" " Look at t' head." "There that symbol is again. So, this one is from the same source as the other two. Don't worry, this one can talk. I'll get answers from him." " Hurry up Tanuki! I don't have much patience!" " Coming!" Cash handed the brid-man the sticks. ' Say, let me ask you something." " What?" " That symbol on your forehead, where did you get it?" " It just appeared when this pathetic human brought me into this world. I didn't exist until just yesterday. Once i was created, i was imbued with my intellect and then set free." Did you happen to get the human's name?" " no. He mentioned something about me being the third he summoned but i recieved no other information." " Where there any others summoned around the time you were?' " No." " I see." " Why do you want to know Tanuki?" ' Oh, i just have a soft spot for humans. See, I've seen this symbol on another creature and heard from a relative of another. A kappa and a Hinotama. The kappa caused no trouble, but i dispatched it as a precaution. The Hinotama set a building on fire, so my relative dealt with it." " Destroy him! He is deceiving you!" The tengu heard in it's head. " Deciveving me?" ' Who are you talking to?" " You don't hear his voice?" " Who's/" ' The voice of the man who summoned me." " No." " Destroy him! You are my creation and will do as i say! Now!" The symbol glowed and the tengu's eyes went blank. It then attacked Cash." Guess play time's over." Cash unsheathed his sword. The creature attacked again. He dodged it's attack and slashed it's forehead. The mark glowed again and seemed ot cause the creature pain. " Get me some water!' cash cried. Tom snatched the bottle of water from Jason's hand. ' Here!" ' If cutting and breaking the mark causes pain, let's see what erasing it does." He poured the water out on it's head and erased the mark. The tengu immediately crumpled to dust. " well, look at that. Erase the mark and they just fall apart. Come to think of it, the mark on the kappa spilt apart because it shriveled so much after i tricked it, then it crumped to dust. The hinotama's mark must have gone when the water hit it. So, these marks are all that keep them together. But, when they are still in place, they have all the strengths and weaknesses to the real thing." ' Real thing?" Tom asked " Yeah, I've seen this before. These are summoned creatures. Mere dolls made of dust and mud, but act the same as the creature they are based on. Seems somebody is reeking havoc by making these creatures." "But who?" ' The last person i knew who could do that was a guy named Makoto Matsumoto. He was an enemy of Agito's. He attacked us once with a small army of creatures. I never did figure out how Agito beat them. I guess he figured out what we just did and used that to his advantage. Then, he placed a spell on Makoto to strip him of the power he had left." " Had left?' " I'll tell you later. Right now, Jason, are they alright?" " Yeah, just scared." ' well, it's over now." ' What's going on?" ' No idea. But, we just had a major breakthrough. I'll get to the bottom of this somehow."


	64. Chapter 64

New munks

Agito's past

" and that's the gist of it." Cash said. He had invited the whole family over to discuss what he and Tom had just found out. "so, somebody is making these things?" Simon asked. " Yeah. Don't know why. Just general hell raising I guess." " So, what now? Do we just sit around and wait for the next one?' Theodore asked. " I don't know." ' come on Cash! Somebody is bringing Japanese fairy tale monsters to life and causing chaos in the real world and all you can say is ' I don't know'?" Alvin asked. " Your leader, man, so lead!" " I can't make any moves until I figure out what's going on, Alvin! I'm a confused as you. I know a whole host of craziness has happened to us before, but this is the craziest by far. So, until we figure where these things are coming from, we can't do anything." ' Man, this sucks! Somebody's doing the magic version of Frankenstein's shtick and we can't do anything but wait." Alvin said. " Cash, you got a call.' Katrina said. " who?" " Kimiko.' Excuse me. Hello Kimiko." ' Hello Cash." ' everything alright? You know I can be in Tokyo by morning if you need me." " No. Everything's alright. Listen, I have news for you." " I'm listening." " Do you remember a Makoto Matsumoto?" " Yeah. I was just thinking about him earlier, why?" ' He got out of jail a month ago." " What?" " He escaped. You know how he hated Grandpa Agito after what he did to him." " yeah." " Well, with grandpa dead, I think you'd be the next best thing for his vengeance." " I see. Thanks for the heads up." " Not a problem." " Hey Kimiko?" ' Yes?" "Makoto, he could summon yokai dolls, couldn't he?" " Yeah, if I remember right. Why?" ' Just a thought. Tell Rena ' uncle' Cash says hi." Cash hung up the phone and then hung his head. " Perfect." He said. " what?" Eleanor asked. " the past comes back to haunt me again, and it's not even my past." " What are you talking about?" " I know who's doing this now." " Really!? Who?" Simon asked. " His name is Makoto Matsumoto. Kimiko said he escaped from jail a month ago." " He a Japanese magic user?" Eliza asked." Yes. I guess I'd better tell you the story. Everybody get comfortable." They did. " ahem. Alright, Makoto is an old enemy of Agito. He met him some twenty-five years before he found me. Makoto was an avid scholar of the Japanese mystic arts. In his studies, he had found out about three artifacts that, when brought together and used in the proper ritual, could grant any wish. He even knew where to find them. But, he knew they were well guarded. He figured he needed somebody with skills to assist him. He heard about agito and enlisted his aid. Agito, believing this to be a mission for a museum of some sort, was to happy to help. But, after they found the last artifact, Agito found out what Makoto's true intentions were. Makoto had been around for at least a hundred years. He was using a spell that prolonged his life and kept him looking youthful and strong for twenty years. But, the draw back was that it had to be re-done every twenty years. The artifacts, Agito found out, were to grant Makoto's wish for immortality. With immortality, Makoto could do whatever he wished. Even had plans to take over the world, from what Agito told me. Agito was horrified by makoto's greed and so he stole the artifacts and a parachute and jumped from the plane they were in as they were flying over the ocean back to Tokyo. Agito then moved he and his family, a son and daughter who would later become Kimiko's mom and Ken's dad, ages 15 and 16 at the time, and hid them, along with the artifacts in the mountain house that I grew up in. Makoto came looking for him some fifteen years later."New munks

Agito's past part 2

Cash continued to tell the tale. " You see, Makoto took so long because, during the adventure of trying to retrieve all the artifacts, he had used much of his power. He saved only enough strength to perform the life extension spell once more. So, he spent that time gaining his strength back. Agito's children had grown up since then, aged to 30 and 31 respectively, and had married and had children. Kimiko's mother had married and had her and Shingo, they are fraternal twins, at age twenty five. Ken's dad married at twenty and had ken by twenty-one. By the time Makoto returned, Ken was ten. So, short version, Agito and his wife were empty nesters. To pass the time, Agito was training Ken. Makoto returned one day while Agito was at the store. He returned to find Makoto, standing over his poor wife's murdered body. In a rage, Agito beat the crap out of Makoto. But, once he beat him, he realized that killing him would be letting him off easy. So, Agito used a spell he had learned, just in case Makoto returned, and used it to strip Makoto of nearly all his power. Makoto, horrified by his drastically weakened state, fled. Ten years of loneliness later, Agito found me at age 60. Raised me, as you know. When I was 10, Makoto returned, having gathered some of his power back. At least, enough to make a little army of monster dolls. But, Agito defeated them and then used the spell again to weaken makoto more. Makoto left again. The strain of all this, and his age, caused Agito to collapse. He slept for three days after that. I assume that Makoto has somehow regained his strength and has now cooked up some plot to get at me, just so he can have vengeance on agito. ' Why you?' Jeanette asked. A look of great concern on her face. " because, with Agito gone, and I being his most beloved son, at least that's what Makoto thought, I'm the next best thing to Agito." " That's... Really messed up." Brittany said. ' yeah." Olivia and Ben agreed. Tony just sat, dumfounded. ' well, don't worry dad. We can handle this guy. If grandpa could do it, so can we." Tom said. " guess so. But, how do we find him?" ' Oh man, more late night hunts. Better call Andy and have him track down any leads." Alvin said. " I'm sorry guys." Cash said. " It's not your fault. It's this guys own craziness. Besides, we don't mind helping. I mean, all for one.." Theodore said. " and one for all!' Everyone said. " Let's go home and get ready. We'll start tomorrow night." Alvin said. ' Sounds good. See you guys later." Cash went about his day. He tried not to concentrate on this whole mess. They would find Makoto and stop him, some how. " But, this guy is like Freddy Kruger or something, no matter how bad you weaken him, he just comes back. Do I have to kill him for this to end? No, I'll find some other way. I have to." After dinner, Katrina began pleading with Cash to go to bed early. She said she felt that Cash was going to need all the rest he could get now, because he wouldn't be getting any for the next few days. Cash, at around eight that evening, caved in and went up stairs t lay down. Katrina and the kids stayed down stairs and watched TV." Tomorrow." Cash thought. " Tomorrow, lord, let me find Makoto and stop him. If not then, then sooner. Amen." cash had no clue how quickly his prayer was to be answered.

New munks

Cash Vs. Makoto

That night, Cash woke to a loud crash. Knowing that Katrina and the kids were still down stairs watching TV, he hurriedly grabbed his sword and shot down stairs. He arrived just in time to see a monster carrying off his family. But, who he saw leading it was what got him. " Makoto!" Cash shouted, loud enough to garner the attention of his family. Alvin and the rest of the Seville's, including Dave, rushed to see what's the matter. They came out of their houses just in time to see Cash struck down by a large creature and then carried off by it as well. They gave chase, determined to save their family members. They arrived at the building Makoto and creatures retreated into. But, they couldn't get inside. Makoto had a barrier set up and they couldn't get inside. Cash awoke, to find himself alone in a dark room, and tied up in chains. " Hello, child." " Makoto. Where's my family!?" " Your wife and children, child? They are here with me, tied up, much the same as you.' ' When I get out of here and find you, I'm going to break you in half!" " oh, but you won't get out. Those chains are reinforced iron. May not sound like much, but it's more than enough to hold a three hundred pound man. I think they'll hold you nicely. Your not going anywhere. Your family caused me many set backs. Agito may be gone, but I still have you. So, I'm going to watch you suffer. Watch as you wither from hunger and thirst. Watch as you pine for you family, till your dying breath." ' You bastard!" Cash heard Tom yell. " So, you were behind the kappa, the hinotama and the tengu?' Cash asked. " That's right." ' I understand this, but why set those creatures out to where they can cause havoc?" " As a test." " A test?" " To see how strong my powers have become. To see what my level is now." ' so, you put innocent lives in danger, just to test yourself!?" " Yes, brilliant idea isn't it?"" Your twisted." " And your going to be dead." " Daddy!" Cash heard Helen. " Shut up!" Cash heard a smack sound. Obviously, Makoto had just hit Helen. Cash fist clenched and shook. " I'll give you this, Makoto. Your plan is well thought out. But, you made two mistakes. One, you just hit my little girl. And Two, you have drastically underestimated how strong a pissed off munk can be!" Cash said. HE stood and began to force the chains open. They began to bend under his might. " No, that's not possible." Cash finally broke the chains. " And now, I'm coming for you, makoto. And when I find you, I'm going to rip you apart!" cash then forced open the door to his room and followed Katrina and Helen's scents. He eventually found them. However, Makoto fled to the roof, hauling them with him. Cash gave chase. On the ground below, the other Seville's, along with Andy, Patricia, Xavier, vinny and miss miller, watched. " You are vile, Makoto. You put innocent lives in danger with no regard at all." " Nothing is more important than achieving my goal. And, nothing, not you, not Agito, not anybody shall stop me!" Makoto then tossed a fireball he summoned at Cash. However, Cash caught it. ' what? What magic is this? You shouldn't be able to..."" You see Makoto, this is my power. It may not be apparent all the time, but it is stronger than yours any day and it can never be taken away!" Makoto fired off another shot. Again cash caught it. Cash fused the two orbs of flame together. " No, not possible." " Magic gives you powers not meant to be used by mortal man.. But, it is nothing compared to the power God has given me to protect those i love! And, now, this ends!' Cash then slammed the ball into Makoto. The rebound effect of having his own power used against him caused all of Makoto's power to go berserk. All the spells he had used on himself backfired and he aged to his true age, which was so old that he crumpled to dust. With Makoto's passing, the barrier fell and the monsters standing guard crumpled as well. Alvin and gang rushed in. They found Cash, laying on the ground. Exhausted, but conscious. " We heard the whole thing!" Brittany said. ' Gotta say, that was.. Rather anti-climatic." Alvin said. " Whatever, Al. It got the job done. Now, let's go home." Cash said. " and, I don't want to hear one word about magic or monsters for a month!"


	65. Chapter 65

New munks

Crashcup

" 'sigh' We failed miserably last time, why bother again?" Claus asked. " Quiet Claus! I will have vengeance. Or...' " die trying." Claus mouthed while his sister spoke. " Please Claudia, think of your own safety. Alvin alone beat us with that crazy change of theirs and then they all got us last time. I don't know if I can take another mauling. Those claws and fangs.. I can still feel them ripping my skin." Claus shuddered. " and you call yourself a man." " What was that?" " You heard me!" " BE quiet you two! I still have a splitting headache. I think that jolt greatly disturbed my frontal lobe. Argh, where is the aspirin in this place?" Frankenstein asked. Ian was napping. " Look at those fools. They have no clue." the male lead said. " No, they don't. It's actually funny, and a little sad." " Did you look into what I told you, sister?" " Oh yes. He seemed scatter brained, but, he is capable. Hell, he was fully willing to show me the contraption. It's old, but he has one." " Ah, good old professor Clyde Crashcup. The single dumbest genius on the planet." ' Didn't you have him for your high school chemistry class?" " Yes. The longest job he ever held." " What was he fired for again?" " He created the single craziest contraption I've ever seen and said he'd invented the vacuum cleaner. The thing had a ridiculously power motor. I think he pulled it from a riding lawn mower. The bag on it was huge and the suction so powerful it sucked up most of the school's awards when it went hay-wire. They were so messed up when they got them out.. Oh, funniest thing I've ever seen. That's why I had you check to see if it worked." " He swore it did." " Did he prove it?" " He showed me file footage of the military having to go to an abandoned island to detonate the first one. Biggest blast I've ever seen. And he swore the second is even more powerful." " Good. Now, all we need to do is get him to come in and work for us and make more. Our own Manhattan project." " Those fools will pay for sending us away. We swore it would all be ours one day." ' That we did. That we did. Also, did you show him the schematics I designed?" " Yes, he seemed very interested in making those enhancements for the Franklin kids. He called them the crashcup mods and then said he invented them. Then went about telling me how their syllables sounded" "Hasn't changed a bit. That's exactly what I was expecting him to do. But, will h make them?" " he said he would get started right away, but wait for us to tell to go ahead." " Seems he might have smartened up a bit after all. Well, lets get him in here, as soon as possible. Give him the 'accommodations' in the basement." " Yes, I'll see to it that he's very well looked after." " So soon, I can taste it." " But, the chipmunks are still a major thorn in our side. They know our group exists, but they have yet to figure out exactly what we are. If they were to catch onto our plans, they would surely meddle and set us back. What should we do?" " I say let them believe it's the Franklin's back from the dead. Once those two are up and running, we'll run the munks ragged, hunting them down." " Sounds like a plan to me. We both know that, no matter how much help we give them, those four will muck it up. As a matter of act, Frankenstein is all we need to worry about. But, with the Franklin's almost up and ready, w won't have to worry ourselves with him much longer. Yes, getting the Franklin's up and running must be our priority. Once they are up and taking the heat for us, we will be free to complete our real plan." It will be so sweet, won't it?" ' Oh yes. An early everything present." ' Speaking of presents, valentine's day is coming up. What say we send the chipmunks a little present?" " Of course. But what?" " I have two plans. One, I've had Frankenstein design a drug with hypnotic abilities. And, I would put these drugs in some sort of free sample and give it to the munks dear friends. With a little hypnotic suggestion device, perhaps a recording device hidden in the free sample box, the munks friends and family would turn against them over night. They, if all goes as planned, would attack the munks on sight. And, these friends being like family, the munks would not fight back." Hmm, hypnosis through drugs? Isn't that plot as old as Abbot and Costello?" " I do have another plan. It is hypnosis once more, but much more personal to the munks." " How could it be more personal than turning their friends against them?" ' It would effect their wives." ' oh, I see then.' ' You see, I have a skilled Hypnotist lined up. He claims he can do anything to a person's mind. Even make their darkest fears and phobias become a waking nightmare." ' Like a real life Freddy Kruger." " No burns or claw, but yes, essentially. If we set it up right, he could turn the chipettes into nervous wrecks. The chipmunks would be running themselves crazy trying to figure out how to remedy the situation. Meanwhile, we could use that time to do whatever we wish." " hmm, I like the second for right now, but don't throw out the first." " Your the boss, sister." " sir!" A goon came in. ' What is it?" " I have a mister Grant Morella here to see you." " Send him in then." " sir!" " Hello, Mr.?" Grant asked. ' Kingsley, George Kingsley. This is my lovely sister, Lexi." " How do you do ma'am?' ' I'm just fine. Care to sit down?" " Thank you." " Now, Mr. Morella, you know why your here." 'George' said. " Yes. You need the chipmunks taken care of." " That's right. You see, We once attempted to take over a thriving business, that just happened to be near their label. They got find and started snooping. They exposed our criminal ways and ruined us. We do not take kindly to this. So, we'd like them dealt with, so we can try to make our move in piece." " Sounds like a flimsy reason for a revenge hit, but I've heard worse. And, you said you wanted me to do something else?" ' yes. There is a man we want you to track down. He too is a mercenary. You may have heard of him? Goes by the name, Mr. L." " Heard of him? Lord, man's like a myth. He's not easy to reach." " We know. We've tried. But, with your skills and those cybernetic improvements of yours, you should have no problem." "I'll get back to you on that one. When do you want the chipmunk job done?' ' As soon a Mr. L has been acquired to serve as your partner. We want them all dead, the eight adults, the six kids, all of them. Leave none alive. So, we figure two skilled initials like you and L would be more than enough." It's against what moral fiber I have left to hurt kids, but I need the money. Hit man market is drying up. Lot's of people are going vigilante. So, I guess I got to 'grin and bear it'. I'll find L. Then, we'll be back.' ' Oh, I believe I know how you can get him to join you.' " lexi' said. " How?" " Tell him, if he is who I think he is, an old friend of his from the military works for them. A young man named Adrian McNab." " Yes ma'am. Well ,best begin the search. Good day." " Ah, good. Another piece to the puzzle is falling into place." " George' said. ' Tell me something brother?" " Yes?" " When did we become so good at manipulating people?" " Natural talent, dear sister. Natural talent." " We should run for a political office then." ' Why bother? We'll be a king and queen soon. We'll be hailed like Gods by those who will fear our power." You have a point.' " h, I feel good now. Shall we have ourselves some drinks? Some wine?" ' Let's. But, make mine vodka." Like it strong eh?" ' Always have."

New munks

First concert

" Wow! Cool!" Eliza exclaimed. Today, the entire Seville family, and Harry, Charlene and their brood, were out enjoying a day at Frankie and Elsa's amusement park. " What/" Tom asked. " Look at this flyer." " Hmm. Talented?" Tom read. " Uh duh. Look who's kids we are." Eliza said. ' the paper can't hear you, Liz." " Just shut up and read." ' Fine. Then prove it. A mister Derringer is looking for a talented group of youths, preferably ages 6-10, to perform at his store's grand opening down town on Valentine's day. Think you have what it takes? Sign up Today at the Screen pavilion." " That sounds cool. It could be a chance for us to show what we got.' Tony said. "Yeah." Ben added. "But, what do we use?" Olivia asked. " we don't have instruments or music." " Look, it say, right here at the bottom: All music and instruments required will be provided." Helen said. " That settles it, let's get going. Uncle Simon, you got the map. Where's the pavilion?" Tom asked. " Uh actually, we're not to far. It's just around the corner really." " Let's go!" in a minute, they were there. What they saw set Tom off. Made him determined to win this contest. ' The chip punks are signing up too? Oh, now we have to do this." " Yeah. Show those wannabes whose boss around here." Eliza added. " Oh no. Tom and Liz are agreeing.' Brittany said. " head for the hills." Katrina joked. " Move over Rex!" Tom said, bumping Rex out of the way. " Hey, my cousins and I wanna sign up for this." " Alright. Does your group have a name?" The attendant asked. ' The new munks!" " Alright. Your all set. You go on after this young man's group." the attendant said, pointing to Rex. " oh, you our only competition? This'll be easy. And don't think I'll go easy, just cause your cousin's cute." Rex said. Upon hearing this, Eliza shot Rex a little wave. He didn't seem to notice. "Come on, let's go!" Rex said. " But Rex." Roxy said, trying to show she wanted to talk with Tom a bit. ' Now Roxy!" " Uh. Alright." ' Rex.." Eliza said. "I don't have time for you Eliza. Now come on guys!' Rex and crew walked off. " rex, that was mean to Eliza." Charlene said. " I'll apologize later, Mom. Right now, Tom needs a big old slice of humble pie." Later, Tom was surprised to find himself tapping his foot while Rex and crew played a rock and roll rendition of the Phantom of the opera opening. But, the audience and judges knocked them back a bit because they didn't sing. Finally, the new munks were. The beat started. after a while, the kids began singing. " Cause we rock, We rock on, We rock, We rock on. Come as you are, Your a superstar. World in your pocket and you know it. You can feel that beat, Running through your feet, Heart's racing fast. Your rock and rolling. All that you need is the music, To take you to some other place. Where. Where you know. You belong! Raise your hands up in the air and scream, We're finding our voice, following our dreams. Cause we rock, We rock, We rock, We rock on! Nobody in the world's gonna bring us down. The louder we go, well, the better we sound. Cause we rock, we rock, we rock, we rock on!" " That's enough, I think we know who won." Said a judge. The announcer raised Eliza and Tom's hands to show they won. ' 'tsk' like they need anymore spot light." Rex said. ' Rex, didn't you say you were going to apologize to Liz now?" Charlene asked " Do I have to? I'm just so mad right now." ' you said it, you'll do it." " uh, Eliza?" " Yes?"" I, um, I'm sorry, bout what I said. Uh, you wanna do something, you know, together?" " Sure, let's go ride the Ferris wheel. I wanna talk to you." " O joy." Rex thought.


	66. Chapter 66

New munks

About getting along

" So, uh, what did you want to talk about?" Rex asked. He and Eliza where now in one of the buckets of the Ferris wheel and were currently stopped at the top. " I want to ask you something." " Alright." " What do you have against Tom?" "What?" "I know he can be annoying, really, REALLY annoying, but he's actually a pretty good guy. I know, I'm his cousin. But, what do you have against him?" " He's just such a stuck up jerk." " Did you ever think maybe your the one being a jerk?" " Huh?" " Tom didn't start this thing between you, you did. Remember when we first really talked? That day at the park?" " Yeah." "You, technically, were the one to fire the first shot. You started this and goaded tom into it. Or did you forget the things you said?' ' I remember but.. I know he's a stuck up pain. And I hate those types." " A pain, yes. But, not stuck up. He's very generous. Helps out those in need. Does that sound stuck up to you?" " Well, no but.." " And you said you hate those types. Well, doesn't Roxy say the same about me?" "How'd you know?" " Just call me psychic." " Yeah, she does." "And, have I not proved, to you alone at least, that I'm not what she says?" " Yeah." " Well, Tom's not what you think either." ' Well, what about what he did earlier? Shoving me out of the way?" " Okay, that's just Tom taking a rivalry too far. But, believe me, Tom and I have done worse to each other." How do you live with him?" " I don't. We live in separate houses." " I mean, how can you stand him, with that attitude of his?" ' It's called love, Rex." " Love?" "Yeah. We may fight and take our shots at each other, but I know he loves me and I love him. After all, we're family. And, when push comes to shove, we both know the other's got our backs. And, don't you and Roxy fight?' ' A lot." " But, if something happens, aren't you the first to rush to each other's side?" " Yeah." " Well, same deal with me and him. I know you've probably heard this already but, Tom's actually easier to get along with once you get to know him." ' I just don't.." "'sigh' Tell you what." ' what?' ' I'll.. Um... Hmmm... Oh! I'll kiss you if and when you finally get along with him." " Another cheek thing. Like at the dance." " No, I mean a real one." " your kidding." " Note the serious face. But, you got to clean up your act." ' I'm not promising anything." ' Well, there's that plan out the window." The ride stopped. " I got to get back to my family and you better go back to yours. But, that offer still stands. Just so you know, I wasn't talking full blown friends, just getting along. Well, see ya." Roxy came up. " You enjoy that?" She asked Rex. " Uh, yeah. And you? I saw you and Tom walk off." " We had a nice talk.' " about what?" ' None of your business." " No way am I going to tell him that I offered Tom a kiss if he can show he can get along with Rex.' She thought. ' Hey, Roxy?" " Yeah?" ' you know how I don't like you hanging out with that Tom?' " Yeah.' " Well.." " Hey guys!' Zack yelled, leading the others." " Oh good. The gangs all here. Listen, Roxy and I just got done talking with Tom and Liz." " And I just got done talking with Olivia." Zack said. " Helen and I had a nice chat." Jake said. " Holly, Nikki?" " We talked with Tony and Ben." " So, I guess we all had about the same talk? About getting along with them?" " YEah." The others said. "Okay, then I propose this. I say, if Zack, Jake and I can show that we can get along with Tom, Tony and Ben and you girls can show you can get along with Liz, Olivia and Helen, then we'll all approve of each other hanging out with them. Deal?" " Sure." they said." " But, That'll never happen." They all thought.

New munks

Getting ideas

" There you all are." Vinny said as the cousins regrouped. " Have a good time with your 'friends'?" Xavier asked. " We just talked." Tom said. They had all told each other about talking to Harry's kids about getting along with themselves. But, the girls failed to mention that they had cut the same deal Eliza had with Rex. And, the guys didn't mention that all the girls had made the same offer Roxy had. But, other wise, they had precisely the same conversation. 'Sure." Dave said. " Seriously? You too grandpa?" Eliza asked. " How many times do we have to say..' " Your not fooling anybody, Liz. You have to remember, we've been down the same road your on." Brittany said. " Mom!" " Okay, okay guys, if they don't want to talk about it, let's just drop it." Xavier said. " So, where's grandma Miller?" Tony asked. " Getting snacks. That woman can put nachos away like nobody's business." Dave said. " I can't figure where she's putting it. This'll be her, what? Third thing of nachos?" Vinny asked. " Fourth actually.' Eleanor said. " fourth?" " Yeah, she put one away when you were weren't looking, mom." Vinny still couldn't help but smile when one of the girls called her mom." Hey guys." Miss Miller said, as she returned. " Want some nachos?" " No thanks." " More for me then. I could live on these things." " don't we know it." Alvin muttered. Jeanette noted Katrina looking around. ' Something wrong, Kate?" " I'm looking for Cash." ' Cash? Oh, he's been over there for the last five minutes." Simon said, gesturing behind himself. " Huh? Oh, I see him. Oh no, tell me he isn't looking at what I think he is." " What? The fireworks thing they'll set off tonight? What's wrong with that?" Theodore asked. " Theo, who's the only member of the family who knows how to make fireworks?" Katrina asked. " Cash." " And What happens when Cash starts looking at fireworks?" " He gets an idea to make something bigger and better... Oooh." " yeah, I don't think the fire department wants to come to our house, just because Cash lit up the neighborhood sky again." " Eh, what's the worst he could do?" Xavier shrugged. " Don't ever ask that around us. That never goes well." Eleanor said. " I'll go check on him." Tom said. ' Dad?" ' oh, hey Tom." " What are you doing'?" " checking out their set up here. Look at this. Man, I can't imagine how much black powder is here." " Black powder?" " The stuff that burns in order to get a firework to fly into the air. Like little rocket fuel." " Oh." " hmm, I like the design of this model. Yup, this one's a screamer for sure." " Screamer?" "a rocket that makes a lot of noise when it's launched, but has only a small bang at the end." " I see." "I wonder how loud a screamer that's five feet tall and three feet around would be." " one word, dad. Unbelievably. That's how loud it would be." " Your right. I should just focus on making a regular rocket." " That's five feet tall?!" " yup." " Dad, fireworks are cool, but one that big isn't a rocket anymore, it's a missile!" " And?" " And I think it's illegal to make missiles!" " Your right. God, five feet tall? What is wrong with me?" " Exactly." ' It should be ten!" " Dad!" " Just kidding. Your right. I got to stop getting these crazy ideas in my head. Alright, let's go find Frankie and Elsa." " That's more like it. Think Vick's around?" ' With your school closed still, i don't see where else he'd be." " Good point." " So?" Katrina asked. " So what?" " Are you going to make rockets when we get home?" ' Only if you want me to." " What?" " Come on guys, let's find Frankie and family." " hey!" "don't worry mom, i talked him out of it." "Oh. Phew. Thank you honey."


	67. Chapter 67

New munks

Debbie Ortiz

" Hey, Uncle Cash?" ' Yeah, Liz?" " Could I use your computer?" " Uh, yeah. But, what for?" " I need to call up Debbie." " Debbie?" "A friend of mine. She's laid up in the hospital. She's kind of danger prone." " Sounds like somebody else I know." Cash said, looking at Jeanette. ' So, can I?" " Oh, yeah. Go ahead." The munks were having a party today. No real reason, except to celebrate the kids landing the gig at the store opening on valentines day. " Hey Al?" Cash asked as he came in to sit down. " Yeah?" " How long has Liz had a friend named Debbie? I thought I was so on top of everything that I knew exactly who everybody's friends were." " Wow, A control complex? You?" Brittany joked. Cash shot her an irritated look. " She took an assignment to give herself something to do while the school is closed. It's extra credit." " and frankly, she needs it." Brittany said. " I hate to talk bad about my own daughter but...she's just let herself drop so low in some subjects, so she took this extra credit." " So, I am smarter than Liz after all. I knew it." tom said. " Now Tom, this is a party. Let's not rip on her now." Tony said. " Later then?" " Nah. She's been pretty good lately, she doesn't deserve it." " yeah, good to you." " Hey, didn't she tell Rex to give you a break?" " Like I needed it. I could kick his sorry butt any day of the week." The others rolled their eyes. " Didn't you tell Roxy you'd try to lay off Rex?" Ben asked. ' I never promised anything." The other kids shrugged, giving up. " Any ways, you were saying about this assignment?" Cash asked. " yeah. The assignment was to IM sick kids in the hospital. Talk with somebody famous and who's their own age? How can you beat that?" Alvin asked. " You can't." " Exactly. Well, she found this one, Debbie, who was laid up with a broken foot. I guess they hit it off cause Liz kept talking with her, even after Debbie got out." Brittany said. " I see. But, what did Liz mean when she said Debbie was danger prone?" " Oh, just , like right after Debbie got out of the hospital, She and her family when camping. She stepped on a snake and it bit her. She had a nasty reaction to the venom and developed necrosis. After that, Well, Liz hasn't told us. I guess Debbie's hanging tough." Alvin said. " Wow. Sucks to be her." Tom said. " Tom." Dave said. " What? Just got out of the hospital and then have that happen? That's just a pure example of life sucking." ' Yes, but you don't have to be so cold about it." " Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say Grandpa." Cash shook his head. " Gets more like you everyday." Cash said to Alvin. " Hmmm." Brittany said. ' what?" Simon asked. " Now that I think about it, Liz has never mentioned what Debbie's last name is." ' And I'm done." Liz said, walking back into the room. " And I'll get you for that ' smart' comment later, Tom." "" I'm so scared." " you ever wonder if their heads would explode if they didn't insult each other everyday few minutes?' Alvin asked. " The sins of the father are reflected on the child Alvin.' Simon. " Oh yeah? and what's that mean?' " I think you know." Cash shook his head. " Tony, this is why it amazes me that you and Tom get along so well." Cash said. " Alright you two, break it up.' Katrina said. " Okay, does anybody else want to do some fighting or are we going to party?" " Party!" ' But first, Liz?' " Yeah mom?" " What's Debbie's last name? It's just bugging me. I have to know." " It's Ortiz. Debbie Ortiz." "Liz, does Debbie talk about her family?" Cash asked. " All she has is her dad. Her mom died giving birth to her." " Another example." tom said. " Has she told you what her dad's name is?" " It's Jerry. Jerry Ortiz."

New munks

Jerry's sad tale

Cash had a strange look on his face. What's the matter daddy?" Helen asked. " Huh? Oh, I was just thinking." " About what?" Olivia asked. "it couldn't be the same guy, could it?" " Huh?" Eliza asked. " Oh, I know who your talking about. Your old buddy Jerry right? The guy you grew up with? The one you drove that little electric powered car two blocks to go visit?" Simon said. " yeah." " What ever happened to him?" Alvin mentioned. " His dad died and he moved away to live with his aunt." ' that sucks. Didn't you say that his dad drank all the time and that's why you don't drink?" Alvin asked. " Yeah." " I never heard this one." Eleanor said. " Care to tell it?" " I guess so." ' We'll listen. No interruptions. So, go ahead and start." " I met Jerry in elementary school. He and were best buddies. And, his dad was so cool. He had a great job and he always kept himself well groomed. The ideal business man. And, he was always really cool to me. If it looked like Agito couldn't afford to get me something I wanted, Jerry's dad would get it for me. Especially if it was something Jerry and I both wanted. Like, say a new video game came out and Jerry and I both wanted it. If agito couldn't get me it, Jerry's dad would buy two copies and give me one. But, underneath all that laid a very fragile man. You see, jerry's mom, unfortunately, contracted a really bad disease when we were in the fifth grade. She didn't even last a year after she was diagnosed. After she died, Jerry's dad lost it. HE started drinking all the time. And not just beer, oh no, he hit the strong stuff. Really high proof whiskey. Eventually, Jerry's dad came down with and succumbed to alcohol poisoning. after he died, Jerry went away to live with his aunt. I never saw my friend again after that.' " Wow. Man cash, you never cease to surprise me about how much messed up stuff you saw just when you were a kid." Alvin said. " yeah, the worst we ever went through was Cookie chomper dying." Theodore said. Edge, seeming to sense that his master wasn't feeling so great now, came over and brushed against Cash's leg, trying to cheer him up. Helen pulled him away. ' Not now edge. Daddy doesn't want to play." she said to the dog. " well, that soured it all. Come on, this is a party. Come on, everybody dance or something." Cash said. Later on that night, Cash received a call. It was near 11. Everybody was asleep. " Hello?" Cash answered sleepily. ' Cash! It's stew! I need your help man!" " Whoa, whoa, slow down. What's wrong?" ' I got the graveyard shift at the store tonight." ' Sucks to be you." " Listen! somebody snuck in when I wasn't looking. He or, maybe, they are robbing the store man. I'm hold up in the bath room." " call the cops." " I did. But, apparently it's a busy night. No matter how bad this is, a car can't be here for an hour." " Dang I knew crime rates were bad but, an hour?" " Cash please. I know your a trained fighter. Please, come do something." " alright. Just sit tight. I'll be there soon." " Hurry!" Cash picked up his sword. ' Cash?" Katrina woke a bit. ' Stew's in trouble. Late night shift, break in, cops can't be there for an hour. I'm going to help." But..' 'Don't worry, I'll be alright." "'sigh' fine. Just be careful." " What's going on?" Tom asked, just coming from the bathroom. ' hey buddy, want to go kick some butt?" " Yeah, where?" " Cash." Katrina said. " don't worry. He'll only stand guard over Stew. I'll handle the burglar." " But.." " Kate, I can't baby-sit Stew and kick the burglar's tail at the same time. Besides, I'll be close." " Please mom." ' I know this'll cost me the mom of the year award, but get going."

New munks

Friends no more

" Okay, Stew said he's hold up in the bathroom. Go keep an eye on him. If anything comes in that bathroom that isn't me, you know what to do." Cash said. " right." Tom said. " Alright, go. I'll find the thief." Tom nodded. He entered the men's bathroom. He heard a noise. " Stew? It' me, Tom." " Tom?' " Dad brought me along to keep you safe while he take cares of the burglar." " I hope he can." ' Hey, this is Cash Seville we're talking about. Dad's never lost a fight in his life."' But, what if this is the first?' ' Then you got me, the great Thomas Seville. Dad's trained me. Don't worry, even if dad can't beat him, he'll have him softened up. I can take care of him then." And with Cash. " Now, if i was a crazy burglar, where would i be." Crash! ' In power tools, of course. Finding something to bust the main safe open with." He found the man, now holding apparently trying to start a chainsaw. ' hey, buddy! Don't you know that gas isn't included?" The man swung the saw at him. Cash blocked with his sword. " that blade.' The man said. " huh?" Cash said. He saw the man shake his head. " No, It just looks like him." " You alright? We could talk, instead of fight." The man swung the saw at Cash again. ' Okay." Cash said, dodging it easily. " There goes that plan. I should know by now. All stupid crooks like you ever understand is brute force." Cash forced the saw out of the man's hands. He punched Cash in the stomach and ran off. " Get back here!" Cash chased him. " Damn! Lost him." He heard noise from somewhere. " Where are you?" using his animal instincts, Cash sniffed the air. " I smell, cheap cologne. But, from where?" Cash locked on just in time to spin around and block the man's attack. He now had a large axe and was swinging for Cash's neck. " Whoa!" Cash shouted." Thanks for the offer buddy, but I'm a chipmunk. We don't shave." Cash said, rubbing his throat after the close call. " Stop mocking me!' the crook shouted. " What can i say? I'm a mocker. I gotta mock." " Shut Up!" cash dodged and then kicked the man in the gut, sending him into a stack of particleboard. Several of the fragile sheets of wood broke his fall. " let's get a look at you." the face he saw caused an instant flash back. " Jerry?" " So, it is you Cash." " What are you doing?" " getting money to pay for my girl's medical bills. Unlike you, Mr. Superstar, I have problems." " And this is the answer?' " I have no job. I have no wife. Debbie can't stay out of hospital. What am i supposed to do!?" ' Come see your friend who's rich now." "dad!" Tom said. " Good you got him!' Jerry threw the axe at Tom. Cash was there in flash to block it. Jerry got up. ' I don't need your charity Cash. I'm fine on my own!" " let me help you. I could smell it on your breath. You've been drinking, just like your dad." ' Don't you ever talk about him. That man gave and gave to you and you didn't do anything to help him." " I was a little kid. What could I do?" " Oh just shut up. I see what your trying to do." " What?" " Your pleading with me to get me to remember the good old days. And, when that happens, it stall for just enough time for the cops to come and arrest me." 'That's just the booze talking." " All your trying to do is keep me from helping my little girl. I don't need a friend like you." Jerry then tipped over near by can of gas and threw out his lighter. The rush of flames gave him a chance to escape. " I won't forget this Cash. I'll make you pay for hurting my Debbie!' " Tom!" " Uh, yeah, fire extinguisher, right.' While Tom and Stew handled the fire, Cash went outside. Jerry had disappeared into the night. " Jerry... What happened to you?"


	68. Chapter 68

_New munks_

_Vendetta_

" _alright guys, one, two and ..." Todd said. The munks were in the studio, recording some tracks. The all were singing except for Cash. " Wait wait. Cash, you do know an eight part harmony needs all eight of you to sing right?" " Huh? Oh, sorry. My mind was.. Never mind. Alright, let's do this." " Cash, you alright?" " Yeah, just fine.' " You sure? We can take a break if you.." ' I said I'm fine, Todd. Now, let's do this." " okay, okay. Alright, one two..' Cash sang and kept up with the others like he was fine, but his face told a different story. The memory of his old friend suddenly swearing a paranoid vendetta against him last night was bothering him greatly. He and Jerry had been like brothers, just like he and Jason were now. Now, Jerry hated his guts and wanted him dead, or at least hurt. Something like that would stab deep into anybody, even ones as tough as Cash. Eventually, Cash had to walk out. " where's he going?" Todd asked. " Cash.." Katrina said, worried about her husband. She went after him. " Where's SHE going?" Eventually, all the munks left after him. " Oh come on guys!" Dave walked out of booth he, Miss miller and Todd were in. Miss miller followed him. " Man, come on." Todd said. Cash was sitting in a chair, his hand covering his face. " Cash?' Katrina asked. " huh? Sorry, I'm aright." " yeah right.' Alvin said. " I've never seen you act like this before. What's wrong?" " Nothing. Let's go back before Todd blows a gasket." " Theo, Sy, hold him." Alvin said. Simon and Theodore held Cash to the chair. " What the?' ' We're not letting you out of that chair till you tell us what's wrong." " I don't want to..." " Cash, come on. We're family. If you can't tell us what's going in your head, in confidence, who can you?" Brittany asked. " Said the woman who promised not to laugh and then laughed the minute she first heard that my full name is Cassius." " Still, your not getting up till you tell us." I think I know." Katrina said. " Cash, what happened last night?" Cash sighed. ' I have no choice, right?" " Yup." " Last night, Stew called around 11. Said he had graveyard shift." ' That's why I'm glad we're rockstars." Alvin said. " Go on Cash." Eleanor said. " Well, he calls me up and says that somebody broke in when he wasn't looking and was robbing the place. He said he called the cops, but last night was so bad that no car could be there for an hour. So, he asked me to come and help. So, Tom and I went. Tom was to guard Stew. Any ways, I found the crook alright, but it wasn't what I was expecting." " What, the first time you ever dealt with a female thief?" Brittany said. " No, it was man. But.. I knew him." " Who was it?" " Jerry." ' Jerry Ortiz?" ' Yeah. He was stealing in order to get the money to pay for his daughter's bills." " Sounds like somebody else we know. Speaking of which, where is Eli?" Alvin said. ' Does that matter right now, honey?" Brittany asked. ' Guess not." ' But, it wasn't that it was seeing Jerry resulting to stealing instead of coming to me, it was what he said when he left.' ' What?" " See, I could smell it on his breath. He'd been hitting a bottle of booze, and pretty hard t seemed. It was making him paranoid. He thought I was trying to stall for time for the cops to arrive. That I didn't want him to be able to help Debbie. That I was betraying him and hurting Debbie." ' what were you doing?" " Begging him to let me help him." " I see. And he blew it out of proportion?" " yeah. Then, he knocked over some gas canisters and threw out his lit lighter and set off a fire. He escaped by that distraction. But, when he left, I swear I heard he swear a vendetta against me. That he'd make me pay."_

_New munks_

_Claudia's plan_

_The munks attempted to console Cash. This was how Cash and Alvin were alike. When they were happy, their enthusiasm knew no bounds. And, when upset, their despair was bottomless. In short, cheering one of them when they just went through what Cash had, was going to take a while. But, Cash's problems with his old friend turning against him were just beginning. Claus and Claudia had been secretly, unbeknownst to even the group, watching the munks. Claudia wanted to strike them down. They had seen cash leave the house last night and followed him. Jerry had repeated his vendetta as he walked past their van. This had given Claudia a wicked idea. Why not capitalize on this? Cash was emotionally weakened now and that meant that his body would be effected. And, that was only part of her plan. " There he is." she said. " Excuse me sir." " Who are you?" Jerry asked. " My name is Claudia, Sir. Claudia Vorstein. This is my brother Claus." ' How do you do?" Claus asked. " Yeah, nice to meet you. What do you want?" " well, we happened to in the neighborhood last night and heard what you said about Cash Seville." " So what? I was talking pretty loud." ' Were you serious about it? About making him pay?" " Well, yeah. But, I don't know how." ' We can help you." " What?" " We have friends who would be happy to supply you with some things in order to help you." " Sounds good. But, why are you helping me?" " Let's just say that we have our own issues with the chipmunks and we want what you do." " Fair enough. Show me these friends." They called the group and told them about the situation. The two leaders went out and met them at a near by warehouse, so that Jerry wouldn't discover their base was and accidentally blab it to the chipmunks. " Hello there mister Ortiz." The male leader said. " why are they wearing masks?" Jerry asked Claus. " We haven't figured that out yet either." " we have something interesting for you, Mister Ortiz." The female lead said, pulling a cover off some odd looking pack sitting on the tailgate of their truck. " what are those?" " Experimental weapons a scientist we have in our employ developed. They extend like giant springs. Ever seen those extending boxing glove toys?" " Yeah." " Same mechanism here, but much more deadly. Pull either of these little hand levers here, and these will extend, launching these sharp, spiked metal weapons here. These springs are wound so tight that they can punch holes in a wall after a couple of hits." "Do you like?" the male lead asked. " I love it." " well, you can test them for us. They're all yours." "Thank you. I'll get Cash. He'll pay for hurting my little girl. By the way, do any of you have any liquor on you?" " No. But there's a liquor store over there. we can get you some." " what do you like?" The female lead asked. " Wild turkey." " Claus, here's some money. Get the biggest bottle you can find." " Yes ma'am." Claus returned shortly. " Here." Jerry opened the bottle and chugged a whole quart of the two liter bottle in one shot. " Alright, I'm going to go take care of Cash now. Be seeing you." When Jerry was out ear shot, the female lead turned to Claudia. " You have a wicked mind, Claudia. Pitting two old friends against each other. I admire that." " Thank you." " Claudia, shall we go get something to eat?" Claus asked. " Hmm, yes. I'm a bit hungry. See you back at the base." Once the Vorsteins left, the male lead said ' I doubt Clyde will ever figure out that that ' mining pack' he developed is going to be used this way." " So what? If it works, that's one less munk to worry about." Meanwhile. " cash." _

_New munks_

_A good thing_

" _Jerry? Where are you?" Jerry told him. " Just stay there. I'll come get you and get the help you need." " I'll be waiting." cash grabbed his coat. " I got to go. Jerry's waiting for me. He may hate me, but he still used to be my friend. I have to help him. I'll be damned if I let the same thing happen to Debbie that happened to Jerry." " Cash." Alvin said. " What?" " This is a trap and you know it." " Alvin..." " Cash, this guy WAS your friend. But, he hates you now. And, what does every person who hates us try to do? Anybody?" Nobody wanted to answer. " the answer is try to kill us. Please, at least go get and take your sword. Better yet, wait for me to get my sai too and I'll go with you." " I know Alvin, but I don't want you to put yourself in danger. This is my mess and I'll clean it up." " and get yourself killed in the process." Brittany said. " Please, take Alvin with you. Or, let me go. Better yet, both of us." " Or us." Eleanor and Theodore said. " We're game." Simon said. Jeanette nodded. " No! I'm leader right? Well, I say stay here and that's an order!" " cash..." " Especially you, Kate!" With that, Cash was out the door. " Cash.. I know you want to make up for the past but..." " Damn it!' Alvin said, punching the wall. ' Alvin." Brittany said. " Idiot's going to get himself killed." ' he just wants you all safe. Remember, his family is the most important thing to him." Dave said. " It would kill him if something happened to you because you were helping him." " But he doesn't have to be alone. There's a fine line between being brave and being stupid. Between being protective and being foolish." Simon said. " Well, to hell with what he said. I'm going." Alvin said. " Alvin..." Brittany, I almost killed him once. I'm not going to let him throw the life he just barely held onto away. This guy was his friend, but now he's his enemy. Cash won't handle this like he's going up against Ken or something. He'll try to reason and then he'll... No. I won't let that happen." " Take us with you." Simon said. " No. You guys stay here." ' Now you sound like Cash." " Cash and I took down ken, after he got all big and scary, when we were teens. How bad can this Jerry be? I don't think we'll need help." Meanwhile. " Jerry." " Hello Cash." " Jerry, come on. The car's outside. You've drunk yourself sick. I can take you get help and I can help Debbie." " You liar. You'll lock me away and leave Debbie all by herself." " No. Man, don't you remember? We were like brothers. Who sat right beside you at your mom's funeral? Who visited you everyday for a week after that? Just to see how his friend was holding up?" " It won't work Cash. I won't fall your tricks." Jerry then revealed his weapon. " What the hell?" " You like? This is how you'll die." " Where did you get that?" " From some friends of a woman named Claudia." " Claudia? Claudia Vorstein?" " Yes." ' Jerry, she's an evil woman. Her and her brother are criminals. The chipmunks foiled their diamond smuggling operation years ago. Don't you see? She's just using you to get her vengeance?" " I don't care." then, Jerry pulled the levers. The arms launched. One was clearly going to miss Cash, but the other was dead on. However, it stopped a foot short. Cash noticed why. A familiar looking sai was stuck in the arm's spring. Alvin came walking up behind Cash. He handed Cash his sword. " Alvin..." " What would you do with out me? Man, You know, usually I'm the one who jumps in head first. What's up with you today?" " Alvin, I told you.." " When have you ever known me to listen to somebody when I don't want to? seems it was good thing I didn't listen to you."_

_New munks_

_If that's what it takes_

" _Get out of here! I have no problem with you." Jerry told Alvin. " sorry buddy. Cash here is my brother. Not 'like a brother'. No, blood brother. Let you kill him? don't make me laugh." Jerry gritted his teeth. " Besides, you got my dagger stuck in your arm thing there. Can I have that back now?" Jerry ripped it out and threw it to the ground. Alvin moved to go get and Jerry launched the arms again. He kept firing, keeping the brothers on the move. ' Move!" Alvin shouted. The shot they dodged got the arm stuck in the wall. Jerry ended up breaking it off. They kept dodging until Jerry managed to repeat the process with the other arm. With them both gone, Jerry threw off the pack. Alvin attacked. However, Jerry kicked him away. Alvin bounced off the floor." " What the hell?" ' did I mention that Jerry and I took karate lessons together?" " You just thought to mention that now!?" Cash helped Alvin to his feet. " Stay here." ' What? Come on man. If we both come at him." " Alvin, I know I can get through to him. Trust me, if there's anything of my old friend still in there, he won't be able to kill me after I do what I have in mind." Cash threw down his sword. " Come on Jerry. Mano y Mano." The two traded blows for a bit and then Cash knocked Jerry to the floor. Cash approached Jerry. Jerry grabbed Alvin's sai, still laying on the floor and rushed at Cash. However he stopped an inch from hitting him. Cash just blinked. " What's wrong? You want to kill me, go ahead." Alvin couldn't believe what he heard. ' Cash!" cash threw his hand out. " Stay there Alvin." Then he turned his attention back to jerry. " If you want to kill me, my forehead isn't where that dagger needs to be. No, not there.." He grabbed Jerry by the wrist and guided the blade down to his throat. ' But, here ought to do it. Well? Go on. I won't move." " You'd let me kill you?" ' If that's what it takes to make up for not helping your dad. Go on, I deserve it." Jerry's hand began to shake. Eventually, he dropped the sai and collapsed to his knees. " You were right Cash.. I am sick." " I know. But, don't worry. Debbie won't go through with you what you did with your dad." Alvin walked up and picked up his sai. " just in case, I'll taking that back now." " So, you want get better, for Debbie's sake?" " Yeah.." " well, come on. We'll take you to get help." They took jerry back to the label. " Who's he?' Brittany asked. ' jerry Ortiz." Alvin said. " Jerry! But, he..' " Don't worry. It's over. I'll spare you the details, but let's say that cash made him realize that he needs help. We'll get him into AA later, but for now, where's Charlene?" Katrina kissed Cash. Jerry saw. " Your really Cash." " I know. But, your lucky too. You still got Debbie and.." He looked around. " You got all of us." " thank you Cash. " jerry began to follow Todd to Charlene's office. " wait!" " Hmm?" ' Who'll take care of Debbie until I'm ready to again? They said, with one surgery and a day of rest, she'd be ready for home." " We'll pay for it." Todd said. " Thank you. But, who'll take care of her after that?" ' I'll do it." Dave said. " Huh?" Cash said. ' Ever since you guys moved out, I've had that big house all to myself. So, I'll take care of her." ' but, I was thinking.." " We rely on Xavier enough. Besides, there's already six people in that house."" and I'll be over day to help him. I heard her mom died giving birth to her. I can't ever be her mom, but she can have me as a mother figure at least." Miss Miller said. " And I'll hang out with her. She's my friend after all." Eliza said. ' Thank you. All of you." " Your welcome. Now, go get better, buddy." Cash said. " Whatever you say, my old friend.'_


	69. Chapter 69

New munks

Back to normal

" Alright guys, let's go!" Cash shouted. The day before yesterday, he had managed to save his friend from the same road that friend's father took. Now, Jerry's daughter Debbie was resting in the hospital after her surgery. Tomorrow, she'd be moved into Dave's house until Charlene deemed Jerry ready to care for her again. In short, Cash was feeling pretty good about himself and was back to normal. Now, he was able to concentrate on recording the tracks. " Alright, any other problems Cash?" Todd asked. " Nope. Let's do this. Time to melt faces." " This is more rap than rock." ' Like I care. I can rap." " Alright. Go for it." Tom listened intently. He wanted to see how good his dad was at rapping. Tom knew some good rappers, even rubbed elbows with a few. He wanted to see how good his father was. " You sure Cash?" Alvin asked. " For the last time, yes. Now let's go." " Alright, three, two..." 'If I had a dollar for very time I heard, " oh my goodness god, munks are rockin' my world. Can I get an autograph, pretty, pretty please? can we take a photograph? everybody cheese." Katrina smiled. ' Happy for him?" Brittany asked. " Why wouldn't I be? My husband just saved and reconnected with an old friend." " What's that make? Two, three people he's saved since the new year started?" " You know, I stop counting the number of people he's helped a long time ago." " I would too." ' How many times has Alvin done the opposite of what somebody said?" "Too many times.' " How many times did it turn out to be a good thing that he didn't listen?" "hmmm.. I'll get back to you on that. But, why do you ask?" " I was just thinking. If Alvin had stayed here like Cash told him, would things have panned out the same way?" " So, your happy Alvin didn't listen?" " To be honest, yes. Cash was just so dead set on what he wanted to do that he was ignoring all the things going on around him. Alvin smelled the rat and I'm glad he did." " Yeah. Well, MY husband was leader, before YOURS came along. You'd think he'd still have some leadership skills. At least enough to see through a trap." " Yeah." " We're lucky though huh?" " What do you mean?" " We're married to two of the bravest guys in the world." "IF your lucky so are we." Eleanor said. " Didn't know you and Jean were listening." Brittany said. ' We're two feet away, Britt." " Point." " I agree with you both." Jeanette said. " Your lucky, because your married to two of the bravest guys in the world and we're lucky because we're married to the other two." " alright, we done for today Todd?" " Yeah, you guys can go on home." " speaking of them." Katrina said. " Have fun?" "Oh yeah. Haven't had fun working in a long time." Cash said. " well, you seem happy today." Eleanor said. " Yup. Say, anybody want to go visit Debbie in the hospital? I think it's about time we got a look at her." " Sure." " What ever you say leader man." Brittany said. ' You sound exactly like Alvin." " That's what I get for marrying him." " Hey!" Alvin said. " Just kidding, dear." Alvin grumbled. " Ah, lighten up Al.' Cash said, smacking his brother's back. ' ow!" " Oops. Guess I don't know my own strength." " Apparently." " Aw, poor Alvy. I'll kiss it later, okay honey?" Alvin got a sly grin. " Hundred bucks says he's thinking exactly what I think he's thinking." Theodore said to Simon." you'd win that one. Just look at her face." " You can make another kid later. we've got a little girl in the hospital to visit." Cash said, before marching out with his part of the Seville family. " Yeah, okay." Alvin and Brittany said, looking embarrassed. " Your not really going to.." Eliza said. " No!" 

New munks

A day at the arcade

" Just where are we going Rex?" Zack asked. " I heard about this arcade from Liz. She said she told the guy who runs it that if we ever came in, to let us have one on the house. He said he would." " Maybe Liz is cooler than we thought. Hey Jake, I bet I can whoop both you and Rex at the basket ball game." " You are so on." Jake said. Today ,the sons of Harry were out and about. Their sisters were off doing... something. So long as they were safe, the boys didn't really care what they were doing. " Hello guys.' Jesse said. " Hey, you Jesse Talbot?" Rex asked. ' Yup, and I guess your Rex, Zack and Jake." " Yup." " Alright guys, go ahead. I promised Liz. Don't be expecting this all the time though." " Ah, what's the matter? Don't you like us?" Rex asked, feigning being hurt. " It's not that, it's just I still have to make a living off this. But, I promised Liz I'd give you a go on the house. And, I keep my word." " Okay, we get it. We'll be in with quarters next time." Zack said. " Thanks. Well, go on. Have fun." ' First one to the basket ball game is a rotten egg." " I'll just keep quiet that I let Tom and the gang play for free all the time." Jesse thought. Two hours later, the boys had played everything in the arcade at least three times. ' man, I've never seen anybody go through tokens that fast." " Yeah, well, we play really hard." Jake said. " I can see." ' well, that was fun and a good way to kill a few hours. Now, can we go to the book store over there?" zack asked. ' Ah, good old Zack. Always ready to play the nerd." Rex teased. ' Hey! We agreed. Two hours for each of us. Well, I want to go to the book store." ' For two hours?" " Yes!" " Like I said, nerd." " Man, Tom and Tony never get on each other like that." Jesse thought. " Well, I wanna go to the cooking store over there. Or, maybe the grocery store over there." Jake said. " man, all you think about is food. And we ate before we left." " So what? I want to learn how to cook and bake and stuff. I got a hold of some of those cookies Olivia made for Zack. Those were good." " Hey!" Zack said. " those were for me!" " So? We're brothers. Share and share alike." " You wait until Helen gives you something." " Whatever. She's the one who told me to try one. She said everything Olivia makes is good. Told me Ben isn't too bad in the kitchen himself. I gotta keep up. So, we're going to the store." " Yeah, the book store. I got to have more books than Tony. I have to be smarter." " Grocery store!" " Book store!" " Grocery!" " Book!" " Shut up! Both of you." Rx said. " Zack, you go into the book store. Go ahead. And Jake, you go into the cooking and grocery stores. Be back in Two hours." " What about you?" Jake asked. " Me? I'm gonna stay here and play some more games." " Well, alright. See ya later." " Siblings." Rex sighed. " Tell me about it. My little sister and I got into the stupidest fight the other day." " Over what?" " Over how I was having my daughter dress. Jessica said I should let her pick what she wants to wear. I think the dresses my wife picks out are fine." " Uh, you know I'm eight, going on nine, right?" ' but you can imagine." " I guess so." " Tell you what." " What?" " I'll give you some money and you can go get us some pop. One for me, one for you and one for each of your brother when they get back. Then, we can compete. I bet I could beat you at anything." ' what makes you think that?" " I own the place for one." " Yeah, well, we'll see." " Go get the pop and we'll see." " Your on. Give me the money." " Here you go little man." " We'll see who the little man is real soon." When Rex left, Jesse thought 'Hate to use the kid, but I was getting really thirsty."


	70. Chapter 70

New munks

Strange logo

" Hmm." Simon said. " What is it Simon?" ' huh? Oh, Jeanette. I didn't see you there." " I've been standing here for the last two minutes." " oh, I'm sorry honey. You know how I get." ' Yes, but I don't mind. I love you." ' Love let's you ignore a lot of things." " True. But, before we're all over each other, what were you pondering?" Simon was taken aback a bit. He'd never heard Jeanette say something like that. " What?" She asked. " Are you sure your my Jeanette?" " Huh?" " What you just said, that doesn't sound like the Jeanette I know." " Oh! I must be spending too much time around Brittany." " That explains it." " So, what is it?" " This is the weapon that Jerry used against Cash and Alvin. Alvin picked it up. Said he thought I'd want to look at it, since Jerry said he got from some 'friends' of Claus and Claudia." " Friends. you mean the group that's after us?" " Exactly. But, it's not that which bothers me." ' What is?" " Look at this mark the back." " Three c's in a triangle shape. Some kind of logo, or brand?" " That's what I'm thinking. Hmm, three c's.. It feels like it's telling me that it's somebody's initials." " Somebody's initials? Three c's?" " I know it sounds crazy but.... Clyde." " Huh?" " Clyde Crashcup." " Wasn't he the professor you told us about?" ' yeah, a genius but... A little out of touch with reality. I hate drag up unpleasant memories, but, you remember when we went out to grandma's church to do that benefit? Where the reverend who did our weddings promised he would do them when it came time?" ' Where Ian, ken, Jack Franklin and a then evil Harry kidnapped us?" " I was trying to avoid that part, but, yeah." " Where you first changed?" " I was trying to avoid that too." "And dug your claws into Jack's back..' " Okay, honey, I know. Your free to stop anytime." ' Sorry." " It's alright. But, yeah, you know when I'm talking about. Well, after you and your sisters left and went inside, we found that Clyde had set shop, in our house. Dave had told him he could house sit, if he promised no experiments. He couldn't, so Dave told him to the leave the house alone. But, he got in anyway. Said he needed the room to develop his latest experiment. A uranium bomb." " He made a uranium bomb in Dave's house?" " Yup. Was going to show us how it worked too. Luckily, Dave got him out the door and told him to take the bomb to the proper authorities. Man, I haven't thought of him in years. I thought, since we never heard from him anymore, I thought he was dead or something." " Do you really think it's him?" " hmm, I don't want it to be. As eccentric as he was, he was good man. A little scatter brained sure, but not evil. If He did make this for Claudia, he didn't know exactly what his invention was going to be used for." ' so they've tricked him into working for them?" " yeah. I think, no matter how messed up he might be, he still has a sense of right and wrong. I doubt he'd do this intentionally." " So, could he be a prisoner of the group?" " Maybe. Probably thinks that it's a live in job." ' He's a prisoner, and doesn't even know it." ' I'll call his shop. I know I kept that number around here, just in case I'd need him." Simon looked around. " Okay, I know my desk has been a little cluttered lately, with the twee-twee research and all, but I couldn't have lost that... Tony!" " Yeah dad?' the young chipmunk asked, coming into the basement lab. " Go into my bedroom and look in the drawer in the nightstand on the right side of the bed. Look for an address book. If it's not there, look in the third drawer in my little file cabinet upstairs." " okay." A few minutes later. ' here you go, dad. It was in the file cabinet." ' thank you Tony. Okay, let's see if he's there." " Hello all. You have reached the answering machine of Clyde crashcup. That's Clyde for Clyde for Clyde and crashcup for Crashcup. I'm not home right now, please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as possible." ' 'sigh' Professor, it's Simon. Simon Seville. Listen, I've got a device of yours here. At least, I think it's yours. Are you using a logo that's three c's in a triangle shape to mark your work? If so, this is yours. Listen, the people you made this for aren't the best people. In fact, they hate me, my wife and all my family. They hate all of us munks and want us done in. I think they're tricking you into making weapons to kill us. Please, Professor, call me soon. My cell number is 323- 895-2906. Please, call me. I think you could be in trouble." Jeanette had a look of worry. ' don't worry. I'll get one of the guys to come with me tomorrow and we'll go check out his shop. We'll find him." Simon said, putting his hand on her shoulder. ' Okay. Tony, let's go order dinner. I don't feel like cooking tonight." " Okay mom." before Tony, left he turned to his father, now concern about this professor himself. " Don't worry. We've found lots of people, we'll find Clyde too." Simon said, looking his son in the eye. Tony lowered his eyes. Simon walked over. " look at me, son." Tony looked up. Simon locked his blue eyes with Tony's one blue and one green eye. He was the only member of the family to have this rare eye color set up. He had both of his parent's eye color. Blue from Simon and green from Jeanette. " We will find Clyde. He's an old acquaintance of ours. of ours. Knew him when we were kids. Even Uncle Cash had a little adventure with him." " Really?" " yeah. Ask him about it next he's around." Simon said, fighting back his smile. " We don't give up on our friends, right?" 'Yup." " Okay then." " Alright, go on and help your mom. Let me know when dinner gets here. I'm going to work on the twee-twee research." "Okay dad." But, now alone, Simon wished he was as confident as he just sounded. " No. Don't think that Simon. We'll find him. We have to. We can't let Clyde get hurt on account of us." The next day, the guys were all outside Clyde's lab. " Clyde? It's us. Alvin, Simon, Theodore and Cash." Alvin said. " come o professor, open up." They heard shuffling about. " Hello boys." " Clyde, did you get my message?" Simon asked. " Yes. Don't worry. I'll be careful of who I work for now. Sorry to here that one of my inventions cause you so much trouble. Could you destroy it for me?' " Of course." " Alright, see you later boys. Oh, and congratulations on getting married and having kids. Why didn't you tell me?' " We forgot. Sorry." ' Well, no harm done. Goodbye boys." Once the munks were gone, Clyde turned around. ' I thought they'd never leave." He said. He reached behind his head and removed the mask. " That was a good impression brother." The female leader of the group said, " Yes, yes it was. I'm glade Clyde made these incredible masks. I looked exactly like him." ' and your impression was spot on. I don't think they suspected a thing." " and neither does Clyde. He thought we asked him to make these masks to start a Clyde crashcup line of toys and novelties. Like any idiot would buy something based on him." " Yes, but it was good enough to fool the chipmunks." " That it was. Now, let's get what Clyde asked for and get out of here." " I hear you." a minute later." Okay, that's everything. Let's get out of here. Lock the place up, just in case the munks get suspicious and come back. Leave a do not disturb sign to deter them from 'bothering Clyde' while he's 'working'. " " Right brother." " Ready to go?" " Yes." " alright, back to the base. Also, give Ian notice. He can take a turn at the munks now." " But we said.." " That was for attacking the munks houses. This thing with Jerry can count as Claudia's second go."

New munks

Mia

Later that night, the munks met at Xavier's house for dinner. Vinny had requested they start having whole family, including Miss miller and Dave, dinners at least once a week. " Theo, Ely, could you go get some ice cream? We're out unfortunately." Xavier said. " sure, not a problem. Kids, you behave till we get back." Eleanor said. " We always do, mom." Olivia said.. Five minutes later, Olivia felt so full that she felt that she would throw up. So, she went outside to get some air to settle herself. Ben followed her. Ben was jsut wandering around the front yard. Suddenly, he stopped. ' What is it, Benjy?" Oliva asked. " I found a bird... Two birds...and one's..." Olia came over. There laid to birds. One small, probably hadn't hatched but just a little while before. IT however, was old enough, to have all it's feathers. They were dark blue and it seemed to be hurt.. The other one was larger and seemed to be, well, dead. The little one seemed to be mourning. ' Oh my. I think this is a momma bird and baby bird. Oh, poor little thing." Olivia said. " Look those cuts on the momma. It looks like a hungry cat got her. And, this baby doesn;t look to old. Poor baby, lost it mom already. Ben, go get somebody." " Okay." Ben ran in the house. " Grandma Vinny!" " what is it dear?" " Everybody come outside." The rest of the family followed him. ' oh, poor thing." Jeanette said. The little blue bird seemed to be scared, with all these people around now. " Hey, it's alright. I'm a friend. See?" Olivia asked. She reached out and gently stroked the babies head. IT seemed to like it. " What's going on?" Theodore asked. " Mom! Dad! Look." " oh poor little guy's hurt." Eleanor said. " Grandpa, do you have a first aid kit inside? I could patch him up." Jeanette asked Xavier.. " yeah, i'll be right back. Better get a shoebox for the other." ' For what?" Theodore asked. " a coffin." was Xavier's reply. It was now the parent green clad parents saw the mother bird. " Oh, man." Theodore said. " those mangy cats that roam the streets are vicious." "Mom, can we keep him? He doesn't have anybody now and he's cold and hurt." Olivia asked. " Well, it does seem to like you. And, you've never had a pet.. Ok, you can keep him." " It's a girl actually." Simon said. " What?" " I recognize the speices. The female has these marking around the neck, see? The mother bird has them too." " Okay, you can keep HER." " Hey there little girl. I'm Olivia. I'll take care of you. We'll get you a big old cage to fly around in and you can live in my room." " Here, Libby. Let me have her. I'll patch her up." Jeanette said. Once she had the bird patched up, she handed her back to Olivia. Olivia held the small bird like a baby. " Somebody get me some bread or something to feed her." " I'll go get some." Tom said. HE returned in a minute. Olivia broke it into small pieces. " Her you go. Oh, no, no. Don't eat to fast. You'll get sick." " Better get that shoe box." Xavier said. He would have normally jut dumped a dead bird in the trash, but with it's child right there, he couldn't be that cruel. HE returned and they buried the mother bird. The baby seemed to let out a mournful cry for a moment and then stopped once Olivia started rocking her to comfort her. ' you know, Libby, you new pet bird needs a name." Brittany said. ' you right, Aunt Brittany." She held the bird out before her. " hmm your a pretty little girl aren't you?" the bird rubbed it's head into Olivia's hand. She giggled a bit. " And since your so pretty, you need a simple, but pretty name. Hmm.... I'll call you... Oh, I know. I'll call you Mia. You like that?" Mia seemed to nod. " Well, Mia it is then."


	71. Chapter 71

New munks

Ian's second try

One week later. " So, I can go again?" Ian asked. " That's right." The male lead said. " What about us?" Claudia asked, waving towards Claus, but accidentally smacked him in the face. " You had your go with Mister Ortiz. That was technically your turn, since you always go first." Claudia pouted. ' it's not fair." " Claudia, how old are you again?" Ian asked with a grin. ' Shut up, you hairless idiot." She retorted. " Besides, you never ask a lady her age." " I'm guessing 70." " I'm not a month passed fifty!" ' It's true, her fiftieth birthday was last week." Claus said. " Shut up Claus!" " when's yours?' Ian asked. " Tomorrow actually." " oh, well, happy birthday." Ian was the goof ball of the group. He was getting a kick out of this. " How old will you be?" " Fifty-one." " You look older." " I know. Our mother said.." " will you two insufferable idiots shut up!?" Frankenstein yelled. " Oh, what's the matter, Vicky? Still got that headache your 'son' gave you?" " Oh, if only I had my chemicals right now, mister hawk. I'd turn you into the miserable rat you are." " Ah, now, Vick, I thought you and I were buddies." Ian began to laugh. " Ian.." The female leader said. " Oh, sorry ma'am." Ian said, snapping to attention. " Why is it he only acts that way when she speaks, and not me?' Claudia asked Claus. " Maybe he's afraid of her. You've seen the kind of things She and that brother, husband, whatever he is, can pull. I would be too." " your just a big baby. Mother always said I was the most mature." " Whatever you say, little sister." ' Don't you dare start..." ' Ian, we have an ear for the sports scene. We have word a new ski resort is being opened up this coming week, just twenty miles from Hollywood. You can take your turn there. Our inside man said that the bosses of the resort are going to ask the chipmunks to play the opening and are going to offer them a three day stay, on top of payment. Does that sound good to you?" " Yes, flash FROZEN chipmunk." " Sounds delicious." Doctor Frankenstein said. " We really need to get you a George Forman grill, Victor. Or A girl friend." Ian said. " Why you!" " Enough! Ian, a car is waiting. Gather your things and head out. We have you booked to stay there as well, under the name " James Carmichael.' We also have a disguise, so the chipmunks, nor their children, will recognize you." " Yes sir." Ian said. ' well, get going. The rest of you free till he gets back." Once the others left. " So, how much longer will this hypnotist of yours take?" " he is preparing to hypnotize a large crowd of people. He needs time." " How much longer Brother." 'Mister Culler assures me he will ready tomorrow. If I have it figured right, the munks will have to leave tomorrow morning to get to the opening on time." " Can he actually rewire the munks friends minds to attack them/" ' He is a master of post hypnotic suggestion. Once he's got the room knocked out, he'll have them in the palm of his hand. The munks will be killed by their own friends. O Man, I can see it know. Cash letting out his death gasp as the god son named after him impales him." "It will be a sight. But, what if they manage.." ' So what? Mr. Culler says it's not possible. And, even if they did manage to snap their friends out of it, we have a disguise ready for him, so he can help in plan b." ' Hypnotizing their wives.' ' Exactly. With their wives going crazy , the munks will be beyond distracted. To be honest, I'm expecting them to find a way to foil plan a. But, it should give us enough time to get the Franklins up and running. " " And Plan b will keep them distracted long enough so that we can implement them into acquiring what we need."

New munks

Time warp

" Alright Cash, you ready?" Simon asked. " As I'll ever be. What's this contraption supposed to do anyways?' ' If all goes as planned, you should be able to cross through time, go into the future and discover a way to cure all disease. Then, press the little button on your wrist there and you'll come back, with the secret of course." " You've out done yourself Simon." Theodore said. " I know." " But, why me? surely you wouldn't pass up a chance like this, would you?" " No..." ' alright, let's get started." A large, swirling 'bubble' formed around cash.. It was all kinds of various dark colors, black, dark blue, even some shades of red. In an instant, Cash was gone. When he opened his eyes, he couldn't tell where he was. " Simon." Cash said, turning on the communicator he had been given. Where am I?" " Your traveling through another dimension. One of sight, sound, and, time." The feed cut out. " Simon? Simon! Oh this is great. When I get out of this mess.." " It's astounding." " Alvin?" Alvin appeared, looking really odd. " Time is fleeting." ' Uh, yeah. Well, how about getting me out of this mess? No matter how many time I push this stupid button.." " Madness takes its toll. But listen closely." " Uh, okay, how long?" " (Oh, not for very much longer)" " Huh, Simon?" " I've got to keep control." ' What are you talking about, Al?" Alvin began singing. " I remember doing the time-warp, Drinking those moments when, The Blackness would hit me and the void would be calling." Simon and Alvin began screaming at him. " Let's do the time-warp again, Let's do the time-warp again." They suddenly, some crazy, puppet like strings grabbed him and forced him to do the dance. " It's just a jump to the left, And then a step to the right, Put your hands on your hips, You bring your knees in tight, But it's the pelvic thrust, That really drives you insane." Cash forced free. " Let's do the time-warp again, Let's do the time-warp again!" " No way!' Cash took off. " It's so dreamy." " Huh? Brittany?" " oh fantasy free me." ' Kate? Honey, what's going on?" 'So you can't see me, No, not at all." The girls said together. ' Okay...." " In another dimension." " Jeanette, you too?" " With voyeuristic intention." " And Theodore? Am I the only Munk.." "With a bit of a mind flip." Alvin said. " You're into the time slip." Simon said. " And nothing can ever be the same." Alvin said. " You're spaced out on sensation.' Simon said. " Like you're under sedation!" ' Let's do the time-warp again, Let's do the time-warp again!" The other munks surround him. He ran past them. He saw Eleanor. "Thank god. The one munk I know has her head on straight." Eleanor turned around. "Well I was walking down the street, just a-having a think, When a snake of a guy gave me an evil wink, He shook-a me up, he took me by surprise, He had a pickup truck, and the devil's eyes, He stared at me and I felt a change, Time meant nothing, never would again." " Spoke too soon." " Let's do the time-warp again, Let's do the time-warp again." Kate came up and offered him a guitar. He hesitantly put it on. " It's just a jump to the left?' He asked. " And then a step to the right." They answered. " Put your hands on your hips?" " You bring your knees in tight.' ' But it's the pelvic thrust, that really drives you insane." Cash said, feeling it. He spun around and revved up the guitar. " Let's do the time the time warp again!" " Let's do the time warp again. Let's do the time warp again!" ' We got him back!" Simon yelled. " Say something honey!" Katrina yelled. ' Time warp..." The other munks looked at each other And back to him. Zooming in, you could hear the song still echoing in Cash's head.

New Munks

entourage

"Cut! That was great guys." Todd said. Cash got up. " Man, these music videos are getting crazy. All that with disturbia and now this?" ' but, it was simpler than disturbia, wasn't it?" Todd asked. " yeah, but I can imagine how this is going to look." " What I think he's trying to say is that we better not look stupid." Alvin said. " Now, Al, we'd never let the soul stars of chipmunk records look stupid."" Okay, I'm just saying though."" I know, I know. You'll clobber me, right?" " Exactly." " So, Eli, did you get that mixed right?" " Of course. Song's loud by nature, but we got it." " Hey, Eli?" " Yes, Mrs. Seville?" " Brittany's fine." Okay. So, What do you need?" " I want to know, haven't you gotten enough money for your mom?" " O yeah, her surgery was about a week ago." " Then.." " Britt, everybody needs a job.' Eleanor said. " Oh, Duh. Open mouth, insert foot." " So, will we have this ready in time to show at the ski resort opening?" Simon asked. " Oh yeah. We'll have it ready by six tonight. Just got to clean it up and then you can take it with you tomorrow." Eli said. " Good to hear." " Hey mom?" " yes Liz?" ' Can Rex come with me?" ' Want to go skiing with your boyfriend?" " He's not my boyfriend!" " Well, I don't know. Think the boss of the resort would mind?" Brittany asked Todd. ' actually, he said ' Bring as many as you want.'" " Oh really? Well, we can take Harry's kids too then.' " and Us." Harry said. " How long you been there?' Alvin asked. " the whole time." Harry said. " that was very entertaining." Charlene said. " I'm sure they'll love it at the opening." ' hmm, come to think of it, Harry and Char have earned some vacation time by now." Todd said. " That mean we get to go? Yes! I mean, that'll be good." Harry said. " Eli? You want to go?" Todd asked. " Nah. Mom's still healing up. I don't want to leave her.' " and Jesse and Juliet are probably busy." Katrina said. ' and, I don't think Cash would do much skiing, what with being chased around by Kathy." Alvin said. " Now, that's not fair. We should at least ask." Cash said. " Go ahead then." " I will. And I'll ask Larry too. See if Jessica wants to go." "Well, if Jessica's going, call Frankie and see if Vick wants to go." Alvin said. ' that's a great idea, Al.' " But, how many can we bring, besides us and the kids? Of course mom and x are coming. We never go anywhere without them. And Andy and Patricia too, since they've never been skiing before. But, how many others can come?" Simon asked. " Simon. The man said ' as many as you want.'" Todd said. "Cash? Want to ask if little Cash can come?" Theodore said. " Sure. Jason and Heather are going to be busy, but I'll bet Little Cash would love it." Todd said. " Okay, let me count. All of us, that's 14 already. With Dave and miss Miller, that's 16. And then all of them? That's 28! No, wait, 30, with mom and X." Simon said. " Sy, we're a famous rock band. It's natural for us to travel with a big entourage." Alvin said. " yeah but.." " Sy, I've done the math too. about four people to a room, we'd need just 7 and a half rooms." 32 people, actually." Jerry said. Since his episode, he'd become a resident at the label.. ' You want to go/" Todd asked. " No, Char said it's best not to. But take Debbie, please? And, Todd, you'll have to go, wont you?" " Uh, yeah. So, 32 divided by 4, equals 8. We'll need 8 rooms." " Alright. Eli?" " I'll have it ready. Have fun."


	72. Chapter 72

New munks

Alvin, tongue tied?

" Hello, Chipmunks." A man, looking to be in his mid-fifties, greeted the gang when they arrived. " Hello, Mr. Derringer." Todd said. " Whoa, whoa, did you say Derringer?" tom asked. " Yeah, I did Tom. Why?" ' Um, Mr. Derringer?" Yes?" "Are you opening a store in town on valentines day?" "Yes." " So, it's the same guy." Eliza said. " Come again?" MR. Derringer asked. " Our kids were the ones who won your contest to play at the opening of your store." Alvin said. " Oh, so your the 'new munks'?" " That's us. I'm Tom, This is my Little sister Helen." " Hello." Helen said. " I'm Eliza." " I'm Olivia and this is my little brother Ben." " And, I'm Tony." " Please to meet you. My name is Darryl Derringer." " Wait, your opening this place now and then the store?" Eliza asked. " Yes. You may say I'm a jack of all trades. I have my hands in everything." " Ah, okay. Now I get it. Your like our Grandpa Xavier here." Eliza said." wait, Xavier? Xavier Franklin?" ' Yes?" " You don't remember me do you? We sat together at the orphan's benefit last Easter." ' I'm sorry, my memory isn't that good." " My youngest daughter was with me. She told the joke " Why did the fly fly?' and then when you asked why, she said ' Because the spider spied her.' " Oh! The cute little blonde with her hair in twin pigtails?" " That's her." " Oh, now I remember you. If remember correctly, you donated a solid 100 grand to the benefit." " That I did. And, ten percent of the profits from my new store, that these talented kids will be playing at, will go to benefit local orphans in Hollywood." " that's great Darryl." Xavier said. ' Oh, but I haven't been introduce to everybody.' Alvin and Cash each took deep breaths, preparing to introduce everybody. " This our mom, Vinny. " Cash said. " Pleasure, ma'am. Are you.." " No, I'm just the mom of Cash, Alvin, Simon and Theodore." 'I see.' " This our dad, Dave Seville and this is the girls mom, Rebecca Miller. " ' This is our kids body guard, Adrian Mcnab and his mother Patricia. This is Our label's psychiatrist and security official, Charlene and Harry. And, these are their kids, Rex, Roxy, Zack, Nikki, Jake and Holly. And, these are all our roadies, Vick, Kathy, Jessica, And Debbie." ' Led by my godson, Cash Diggs." Cash said. " Pleasure to meet you all. I hate to split hairs already, but how are you doing the sleeping arrangements?" ' We figured four to a room. So, we need eight rooms." " That's reasonable. They'll be ready by the time your finished singing." " Oh, MR. Derringer, we have a new music video we'd like to premiere, do you mind?" Simon asked. " Not all. The more you do, the more publicity we get." " Alright, guys, you do what Andy, Pat, Harry, Char, X, Dave and beck say okay?" Alvin said. " We got it dad. Listen to what everybody who's older than us says and stay close to them, right?" " You got it. Alright, we got a house to rock.!" Later, after the numerous applause from the music video, the gag played Ac/dc's 'for those about to rock, we salute you.' Then, Alvin got an idea. "Hey, Cash!" " What Alvin?" ' I dare you to play that guitar as hard and as fast as you can." " Why?" ' Cause I want to see what happens first. Do your fingers cramp or do the strings break." " Your not really going to do it, are you Cash?" Simon asked. " What's the matter, chicken?" Cash smirked. ' Your on." Cash did as requested and played the guitar at his maximum capacity for a solid minute before, stressed from the hard, rapid playing, the strings broke. ' Satisfied?" " uh, uh, uh.... Britt, what do I say to that?" " How should I know? First time I've seen it done too." " Your amazing honey." " I know."

New munks

Mother and daughter

" Those idiots.' Ian said the next day. He was watching the munks have a good time on the slopes. " They have no clue." He said. He had prepared a small explosive. All he needed to do was put it in just the right spot, so it would trigger an avalanche and bury them. Meanwhile. " Race you too the bottom!' Alvin yelled to his brothers. Each of them had a snowboard, in their color of course, strapped to their feet. " alright. Marks, get set, go!" Cash cried. The girls, meanwhile, were racing each other as well. Seeing who could clear all the markers( the flags held up by two poles). Everybody was outside, except for Jeanette. She claimed to have two left feet when it came to skiing. " Are you sure you don't want to go out there, dear?" Miss Miller asked. ' N-no. You don't know what happened to me the last time I went skiing." " Well, it's too cold for my old joints, so I've got nothing better to do than listen to stories." " are you sure?' ' Jeanette, Your my daughter. I'm always interested if something's bothering you. You can always talk with me.' " Well, alright. You remember when we raced the boys around the world?" " When you first tangled with Claus and Claudia." " That's right. Well, one of our stops was in Greenland and it happened to be at a ski resort. So, naturally, Brittany gets the idea that we go skiing while we're there. Starting out, we weren't doing too bad. Then, we went off this hill. A small jump now that I think about it, but, it was scary then. And, you remember how I was back then." " Very timid." " Exactly. Well, my knees locked up and brought my skis together when we landed. They stayed locked up until we went off another jump and then they came undone. but the jump was so short that I barely had time to just realize that my feet weren't going to be in position to land in time, let alone do anything about it. And, then, well..." " Face plant?" " Yes. I'd rather not embarrass myself again. I still remember how mortified Simon and Tony were when I accidentally locked myself in that large trunk at home. God, Simon had to borrow a blow torch from Cash to cut the lock and let me out." " I'm sorry I never gave you the key to that trunk. I never thought about if I had left it locked or unlocked when I gave it to you." " Yes, but it's just a memory now." " Well, there you go." " Huh?" " and if their just memories, go and ski." ' But...' "Jeanette, so what if you flumed your last try up? You've grown, physically and mentally, since then. Your more mature. You can handle it." " But, what if?" " I hear they have toboggans available. big enough for three people." " Then, Tony, Simon and I.." ' Now your getting it. Go and have fun." ' But.." "Don't worry about me. I know Charlene's over in the gift shop. When she comes back, I'll just chat with her. I'll be fine." ' If your sure." " I am, dear. Go on." Jeanette hugged her mother. ' I love you.." Miss miller was half expecting to hear Miss Miller or Rebecca, as the girls still rarely called her mom. " Mom." Miss Miller smiled. " I love you too dear. Now, go join your husband and son." " Right." Jeanette went and got a toboggan and came outside in time to hear. ' ha! I win!" Alvin shouted. " 'whistle'" " What? Cash!? When did you get down here?" " About a minute ago. I've been waiting for you." ' so, I'm second place.. Ah man!" ' oh, Jean, didn't see you there." " Huh? Jeanette? What's up sis? I thought you said you weren't coming out here." Alvin said. " That was before found about these toboggans. They're big enough or three people. Where's Simon and Tony?" " I think Tony's helping Kathy make a snow man over there and Sy should be here any second."

New munks

Avalanche

" Hey, Debbie?" " Yes, Mister Seville?" " Ha-ha, Call me Cash... but don't dare call me Cassius." " Okay. Uh, why not Cassius?" " It's nerdy." Debbie laughed. Debbie appeared to be your average eight year old, with a clear Latin-american heritage. The only thing odd about her was that she was unusually pale. Her skin was very, very light. In fact, standing next to anybody else, she looked like a ghost. When Cash asked jerry about that, he said that was a disease she was born with. It made her pigment cells, the cells that gave her her skin color, incredibly weak. Hence, the paleness. But other than that, and being disaster prone, she was a normal girl. ' You want to go the top?" " all the way to the top?" " yup." " I only went up there once, with my uncle." " Uncle? But Jerry's an only child... Oh, from your mom's side." " Right. He took me once on a skiing trip. We cruised down in a sled." " Well, i got you some skis." " But.." " Don't worry. I'll be right behind you. If you fall, i'll be there." " Well, okay." On the ride up to the top. ' Cash?" " Yeah?' "How old are you?" " Twenty-seven." " How tall?" " About five nine." " How much do you weigh?" "Why are you asking these questions?" " Just trying to make conversation. 'sigh' my conversation skills suck." " No, they're not that bad. At least your trying. By the way, i weigh a 162 pounds." ' That's the average for men worldwide." " How'd you know that?" " I was in the hospital for a long time, with nothing to do but watch tv and surf the web." " ah, i see. Ok, here we are. Jump!" " Offff." Debbie said when she landed. ' bend your knees when you land next time. It's softens the landing.' " Oh, okay. I'll remember." " So, you enjoying staying with dave?' " yes. Your father is very nice. He treats me like his own.' " That's the way he treated us too." " aren't you his? Biologically?" " What!? No! The guys and i are adopted. How did you know about.. You know..." " Like i said, nothing to do but surf the web." " man, you can find anything on the net. Even the birds and the bees story." " So, Dave isn't your natural father?' No. Our biological dad was a talking chipmunk too." " What happened to him?" " He got shot by a hunter a week before we were born." " I'm sorry." ' Nothing anybody could do." " so, your not hybrids?" ' No. I know it's weird, but we're a rogue evolution of chipmunks. Somewhere, way down the line, a small group of chipmunks began evolving and later became the twee-twee tribe." ' Twee-twee tirbe?" " Our ancient ancestors. Kind of like our version of the mayans. In fact, if Simon's got the facts right, they should have existed at same time. They evolved more and you end up with us." Fascinating." " You want to be a scientist or something, don't you?" " yes. A genetics expert. But, first, i have to get rid of this pale skin of mine." " Give Tony time." " Tony?" " yeah. . He swore he'd grow up and cure all diseases, just for the good of man kind. Who knows? Maybe when you grow up, you two can work together and cure all the diseases, even yours." " Sounds good." "Alright, ready?" " as i'll ever be. Just let me get my skis on." " Now's as good a time as any." Ian thought. So, he set off the bomb. Cash heard it. Then, he heard a rumble. " Debbie, get on my back." " What?" " Now!" Debbie climbed onto Cash's back. " Hang on tight." Debbie looked. " Avalanche!' " Hang on. We can beat it to the bottom!" And they did. " Damn it! I'd hoped that'd work.." " Your plans are too simple." " Who's there?" A figure approached Ian. The being's eyes glowed and Ian's turned blank. " But, you'll make an obedient servant, won't you?" ' Yes master..." " Atticus. Master Atticus."


	73. Chapter 73

_New munks_

_Act your age_

" _So, what is your name?" Atticus asked Ian. " Ian, sir. Ian Hawke." " tell me Ian, I plan on having at least four servants to assist me with my plans for the munks. Do you know any who would make good servants." " Claus and Claudia Vorstein. They are part of the same group I am and are capable. Also, they are not very intelligent, so they should be easy to rule." " Like you." " Yes, master, like me." ' Very well, any others?" " I suggest not using any other members of the group." " Why?" " The leaders of the group, one man and one woman, are capable of things. They can pull things so complex that, frankly, it scares me.' ' I see. I'll deal with those fools once I'm done with the munks. Any others?' " I recommend not using Doctor Frankenstein as well. He has transformed himself into a monster with his various formulas. He is very intelligent, but also very violent and demented. He could be trouble." " I'll take care of him later as well. Hmm, but I like the man turned monster angle. Do you know of any others like that?" " There is one named Ken Ikebana. He's changed himself with various drugs. He, however, is not as intelligent as Frankenstein. He should serve you well." " Very well, come along Ian. We will go acquire them." Meanwhile. ' Dang, Cash! That was some serious shredding you just did.' Alvin shouted as Cash escorted a , now terrified, Debbie inside. ' Well, coming down a mountain, with an avalanche on your heels and a scared little girl on your back, will make you do that, Alvin." Simon said. " I wasn't talking to you, Simon." The girls, even Brittany, shook their heads. " It baffles me." Eleanor said. ' what's that, Ely?" Katrina asked. " I just don't understand how Tom, who we'll all agree is the new Alvin, and Tony, who's obviously the new Simon, can get along so well, while the original Alvin and Simon can't keep their hands off each other's throats. It makes you wonder who the kids and who the adults really are." " Ow! That's cuttin' deep Ely." Alvin said. " I agree, that really hurts." Simon said. " Well, stop with your stupid bickering all the time and I won't have to say things like that.' 'But." Alvin and Simon both said, glancing to each other hatefully. ' Honestly, Theodore is acting a lot more mature than you, and he's the baby of the four of you." " Whoa, whoa, don't lump me in, Ely. Not yet anyways." Cash said. ' Your right, that's an insult to you. I'm sorry Cash." " Dang, Sy, our family is cold." " Yeah, but they do have a point. We're twenty-seven years old, Al. We really should start acting our age." " yeah. We do need to act better. We're dads after all. What kind of example are we setting?" ' Precisely." " Is that technically making up?" cash asked Eleanor. " Close enough for me. You?" " Yeah, good enough." Cash turned to his brothers. " Okay, that's good enough. We won't disown you. Least, not for now." " But pull this again.." Eleanor said. " We got it, we got it!" ' Good." Cash said. " 'groan'" " What's the matter Mr. Derringer?" " we just opened this place and we have an avalanche?! Maybe I'm cursed. Maybe I shouldn't open that store." " Tom!" Eliza said. " No, you can't do that." Tom said. " But, all these people will surely go back and tell and then people will start talking..." ' Dad, you got to do something. Distract them with a song so catchy they'll forget about this." Eliza begged Alvin." " Already on it, Liz." Cash said to his niece." Simon! Get over here!" " What?" " Run the Yamaha. Number three in the preprogrammed list. I got to get some things. Theodore!" " Yeah?" " Get your maracas out." " uh..' " You don't have them?" " No." ' Improvise." _

_New munks _

_Macarena_

" _You guys remember your Spanish, right?" Cash asked. " Yeah." " Good. Girls, you ready?" " Always.' Brittany said. " Ladies and gentlemen. Please don't be alarmed. We had some technical difficulties, but the slopes are safe, I promise you." Mr. Derringer said. " Yeah, besides that was the most fun I've ever had skiing." Cash joked. People started laughing, which meant they were forgetting. " Tell you what. To chase out all this negativity, why don't we all have a little fun?" Alvin asked. " See if you remember this." the beat started. People were laughing and cheering and having fun. The girls sang the English, whilst the boys hit the Spanish sections. " __When I dance they call me Macarena,And the boys they say that I´m Buena. They all want me, they can't have me. See? Cause I'm married. But, Move with me, chat with me, And if your good I'll take you home with me." Brittany led the girls. "Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena, Que tu cuerpo pa' darle alegria y cosa buena, Dale a tu cuerpo, Heeeeey, Macarena." The boys sang. "Come find me, my name is Macarena. Always at the party con las chicas que estan buenas. Come join me, dance with me. And all you fellas can chat along with me." "Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena. Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria y cosa Buena. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena. Heeeeey Macarena. AAAhAA!" 'Ahai Ahai, Ahai Ahai, Ahai Ahai!" "Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena. Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria y cosa Buena. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena. Heeeeey Macarena. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria Macarena. Que tu cuerpo es pa' darle alegria y cosa Buena. Dale a tu cuerpo alegria, Macarena. Heeeeey Macarena, AAAhAA!" Everyone seemed to be having a good time and didn't want this to stop. The longer we keep going, the more thy forget.' The munks thought. " Okay, anybody got any requests?" Katrina asked. " Livin' on prayer!" Someone shouted. " We got some bon jovi fans in the crowd, huh? Well, fine by me. Guys?" Alvin asked. " It's cool with us." " I got an idea." Cash said. " Tom! Liz!" " Yeah dad?" " Yes, Uncle Cash?" " Care to do a little acting?" ' sure." ' Just listen to the song and do what it says, okay?" " Alright." ' Cool." " Whenever your ready, guys." Cash said. " Tommy used to work on the docks, Union's been on strike. He's down on his luck...its tough, so tough." " Gina works the diner all day, Working for her man, she brings home her pay. For love - for love." " She says we've got to hold on to what we've got, cause it doesn't make a difference If we make it or not. We've got each other and that's a lot For love - well give it a shot." " Whooah, we're half way there. Livin' on a prayer. Take my hand and well make it - I swear. Livin' on a prayer." later. " Well, that went about as well as we thought it would." Alvin said. " Using the Macarena. Genius." Mr. Derringer. " We aim to please." " and, I've heard people. Other than Bon Jovi, sing that song, but I have never heard any one put that much heart in it." " We're a serious band. We put heart in everything." Brittany said. " It shows. Those people will probably be going ' ava-what?' by morning." " That's the plan." " Mr. Derringer." "Ah, Sultan. So glad you accepted my invitation. Did you enjoy the show?" ' yes. As a matter of fact, I did. But, I have more pressing matters. Where is Brittany?" " Right here, your highness." Brittany said, holding Alvin's hand. " What is that?" " What's what?" " That thing on your left hand?" " My wedding ring? It's nice isn't it? Alvin can really pick jewelry. He knows me so well." Brittany said. " I try." Alvin said. The Sultan seemed to be mad." what's the matter?"_

_New munks_

_International incident_

" _You slut!" The Sultan yelled. ' Excuse me?" " You were promised to me! " What the hell are you... Oh no. Oh God no! Please tell me your not that same bratty prince from Cairo." ' The one and Only." " Oh, this is bad." Eleanor said. " how bad?" Katrina asked. " when we had that race around the world, we accidentally landed in Cairo, Egypt. We were captured by these guys and brought before this really annoying prince. He took the dolls we told you about and said he was keeping us and making Brittany his bride. We escaped and I guess said prince never got over it." " and this is the same guy?" " Yeah." " Oh, that is bad." " Last time we had to charm snakes in order to get our dolls back. I do believe that's where my fear of snakes came from." Jeanette said. " I wonder what's going to happen this time?" " you were promised to be my Bride!" " By you! Your men were the ones who captured us and you were going to force me into marrying you!" ' That doesn't matter. I was and am king in that land. My word is law. You defied me. You no good whore!' Alvin had had enough. He punched the sultan square in the face and floored him. " Alvin! He's royalty!" Simon said. " I don't care! It doesn't matter if this starts an international incident, no body, but no body, is going to talk about my wife like that. Especially not some narcissistic prince who can't stand it when he doesn't get his way. Face it bud, I won and you lost. Sorry, but that's life. Get over it." ' You! I could have executed." " We're in America bud. You have no power here." " He's right sir. And, we are out numbered." A servant said to the sultan. " Quiet! I'm not leaving with out my bride!" " get over yourself!" Brittany yelled. " I married Alvin and I'm so glad I did. He's a good man, his heart's in the right place, and he's a good husband and an amazing father." ' Father!?" Brittany pulled Eliza out in front of her. " This is our daughter, Eliza Star Seville. Isn't she the cutest little girl you've ever seen? This gem is what was made when Alvin and I..... 'expressed our love' on our honey moon. I feel proud whenever I look at her and I thank God for giving me Alvin, so I could have her." ' Our daughter could have been cute." " Buddy, tell me something." Alvin said. " What?" " Britt and I, we've been through a lot. That's why we love each other so much. Tell me, could you have fought off kidnappers, monsters, and even your own inner evil for her?" " What?" " I've faced some of the darkest things this world has to offer, mostly, if not only for Brittany." But, you had help, I bet." ' yes. My brothers and sisters here, mostly." " And I would have had my guards." " True. And those guards could have helped foil the kidnappers and fight off the monsters, but your inner evil is something only you can deal with. Could have faced your dark side on your own and defeated it? Just so you could use it's power to protect her? And could you have stopped it if it got out of control and was going to hurt her? Could you have done that?" ' I..I don't know." ' I have. I staved off my own darkness; I've fought 'Dark Alvin' for nine years, just to keep him locked up and keep her safe. And why?" ' Because you love her.' The Sultan said solemnly." " Mind, body and soul. Everything I am, everything I've become and everything I will become, I owe to her. She's made me a better man. She's changed me for the better. Do you think that would have happened for you?" " Honestly? No. I see your point. You deserve her, not me. Any man willing to go through the hell you have, deserves a fine wife like her. And, for my comments, I suppose I did deserve that punch. I apologize. I guess I'll have to find some other woman to be my queen. Hopefully I'll find some one who will do for me, what she's done for you." ' good luck." The sultan then firmly shook Alvin's hand and walked away. ' Alvin? Is that really you?" Simon asked. " Not now Simon. Just let us revel in this moment. Alvin's shot up quite a few rungs on the maturity ladder just now. Let's just take that in." Eleanor said. " Wow, al. I didn't know you had it in you." Simon said. " wouldn't you have done the same for Jeanette?" " Of course." " Well there you go." " "yawn' Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm wore out. I'm going back to our room for a nap. Eleanor, you coming?" Theodore asked. " 'yawn' yeah. A nap sounds good." " Simon? Do you want to go over the twee-twee research once more?" Jeanette asked. " Yeah, sure." " Kate? What do you wanna do?" " Hmmm..." Katrina looked to her sister and brother-in-law. " How about you, me, Andy and Patty take the kids for a while? Let Ely and Theo nap and Jean and Sy go over research in peace?" " That cool with you Andy?" " Sounds like a plan to me. Mum?" " Sure." " well then, come on kids." The other munks walked off. Cash and Katrina stopped when nobody was looking. " Hey, guys." Cash called. " What?" Katrina and Cash both smiled. " Don't do anything we wouldn't." Once they were gone, Alvin got down on his knee. " So, my 'queen', what shall we do?" He asked, acting like a servant to the queen of England. " hmm. Oh! I've got a brilliant idea. Follow me, my king." Alvin followed Brittany to the indoor pool area. Brittany checked the side room with the hot tub. " Good, no one's around anywhere. We're all by ourselves.' ' Hey, Britt, you know we don't have our swim suits, don't you? I could run up to our room real fast and get them." " No! We can just sit in the hot tub in our skivvies. Nobody's around to see and we'll lock the door anyways. Now, hurry up and get in that tub." " yes ma'am. Whatever you say."They stripped down to their under clothes. Then, they got in the hot tub. No sooner had Alvin eased into the tub and gotten a feel for the water, than Brittany was kissing him like she intended to eat his face. " I love you, Alvin." " I love you too Britt." " That was.. Just incredible. I never thought you'd stick up for me like that." " When are you going to learn? Your my wife. I love you Brittany. Like I told that guy, mind, body and soul. I will always stick up for you." Brittany felt like crying, but she choked it back. Brittany laid her head on Alvin's shoulder and let the water relax them. " Hey, Britt?" ' Yes?" " tell me something." " Hate to burst your bubble, honey, but we're not doing that. We promised Liz. No siblings till she's ready." " That's not what I'm talking about. That's the furthest thing from my mind right now. Well, okay, that's a lie, but... I was just thinking." " Hmmm?" " I talked about my inner evil a lot." " Mmhmm." " Well, I was just thinking, how far would you be willing to stand me if the other me got a little out of control?" " Huh?" " Like, you call me your king and such..' ' right, my supermunk." " That's it. If I went crazy, would you still call me that? Would you still be there, holding my hand?" " Of course. I love you. Why else would I have had our beautiful daughter with you?" " Well, in that case, I guess it'll be easier to keep you by my side, my kryptonite." ' That was corny, but really sweet. I love you, Alvin." " I love you too. And, I meant everything I said to that guy." " I know." " Ha-ha, it just now hit me." 'What?" " I floored a sultan, told him off, and got away with it." " He-he. That is pretty funny. You know, even if he is annoying, I hope he finds what he's looking for. Everyone needs love." " Yeah."_


	74. Chapter 74

New munks

Ken and the chip punks

" So, Al, what did you and Britt do?" Cash asked later on that day. " Well, we went to the hot tub room, stripped down to our undies and then kinda made out in the hot tub." 'Sounds like everything you would have wanted from an afternoon when you were dating." " You know, I didn't think about that at the time, but yeah, it was." " Do anything else?" " That's really none of your business now, is it Cash?" Brittany asked. Right, right. I'll keep my trap shut. What you do behind closed doors is none of my concern." " Thank you." " So, when are we going home?" Alvin asked. ' Soon as possible tomorrow." Cash said. ' But, we got three days. we got one more day." " Yeah but, everybody's afraid that that avalanche was no accident.' " You mean, somebody started it?" 'Yeah, I didn't mention earlier, but right before I heard the rumble that told the avalanche was on, I heard a boom, like a little bomb was set off." " The group's handiwork?" " I think so." " well, yeah then we better split. " " Yeah, less we bring more trouble to Mr. Derringer." Brittany said. " We made need to lie to get out of here. He's invited us to dinner tomorrow night.' Simon said. " Hey, Sy." " Hey." ' You maybe right Simon. We can't just ditch the guy. Hmm, who's in charge of the label when Todd's not around?" Cash asked. " I think it's a joint of Harry, Jason and Eli." " Okay, Where's Todd?" " Off relaxing in his room. You should hear the guy snore." Eleanor said. " Somebody get his butt down here." Later. ' So, that's our plan. Simple but effective, don't you think?" " Get Jason to call from the label and say we're needed back as soon as possible?" " That's the plan." " Alright, I'll call him." And later still. " Well, it's too bad you need to leave. I thank you for all you've done. Kids, I'll see you in a few weeks, on valentines day." " See ya!" Two days later. Today found Rex and his brothers out and about again. As he had planned to do, atticus was now in control of Ken Ikebana. He had commanded Ken to attack the munks kids at any opportunity he could. But, thanks to the number of concussions he had received, his memory was very foggy when it came to what tom looked like. He knew he had seen him,, so if he found him, he would find the other kids. Unfortunately for rex, Ken happened to mistake him for Tom. And so." Die!' ' Whoa! What the heck is up with this guy?" " I'm going to say he's been popping pills, and not the good kind." Zack answered. Ken had a mental command to attack and keep attacking like a wild beast implanted by Atticus. Which meant that, now, he was no longer going to talk, but keep charging until he succeeded. ' man, this guy just won't let up!" Jake yelled. Suddenly, they became aware that Ken had stopped following them. When they turned to look, they noted Tom standing, holding Ken back. " what are you three idiots waiting for? Get out of here! I can honestly tell you, this guy has no problems with killing chipmunk kids like us!" " Follow us!' Tony said from near by. " What's going on?" Jake asked. " Not sure. But, that's Ken Ikebana. He's Uncle Cash's nemesis." Tony said. ' Nemesis?" Rex asked. " The enemy he's fought most often, rex." zack explained. " and your just going to let Tom handle him on his own? I mean, I've heard Tom's dad is tough, but if even he hasn't finished this guy off..." ' Killing is against Uncle cash's policies." " Even still, your just going to let Tom take this guy himself?" ' Course not. We're going to help him. We just gotta get you someplace safe first."

New munks

On better terms

" Okay, stay here till we take care of this." Tony said. " we could fight too.' Zack said. " Trust me, this guy requires a bit more...finesse. I've seen the tape of you guys beating up the goons at the label. From what I can tell, it was raw karate you were using. I'd say a few lessons worth." " Well, dad only had so much money. We had to make do." Zack said. " So I'm right huh? Well, anyways, this guy needs a more refined touch. Some one with a bit more training, like us. Besides, we deal with idiots like him all the time. Let us take care of it." With that, Tony picked up two near by sticks. " Ben, you know any Tonfa tricks?' ' I've seen dad and Olivia do a few. I think I could copy them." " Okay then.' Tony broke one stick, with two convenient branches on opposite sides and ends, in two and gave them to Ben. The other stick he kept for himself. Meanwhile, Tom's arms were getting tired. He glanced back. " Phew, they're gone." So, he let Ken go. " Okay Ken, I'm gonna open up a chipmunk brand can of whoop ass on you." " You we're going to." tony said. Tom looked. " ah man! you guys got weapons?! What about me?" " 'sigh' Here." Tony broke his stick, which had to be two feet long easy, and gave half to Tom. " Happy?" " Yes.' ' Good. Now, let's kick some Ikebana tail." " Watch it, Tony. Dad used to be an Ikebana." ' Oh for crying out.. Can we please just knock this guy out already?" " fine by me." After about five minute of fighting, the guy had Ken lined up perfectly. ' Tony, Ben!" ' Go for it!" they yelled and formed a small trampoline with their hands. Tom jumped up onto their hands and they threw him up in the air. " Take this!" Tom yelled, and delivered a thunderous sting kick to Ken's throat. Ken was now reeling, but wasn't falling down. So, tom went and picked up a loose brick from a nearby building and dropped it on his head. Then, Ken was down and out. " Man, we should have done that in the first place." Tony said. ' yeah ,but it wouldn't have been as much fun." Tom said. " Fun!?" " It's over?" Rex asked, coming over tot hem. " yeah." " we're did you guys come from anyways?" " From inside our moms, duh." Tom said. ' I mean..." ' I know. Just kidding with ya. We just happened to be in the neighborhood and saw what was going on. And, I couldn't resist clobbering Ken." Tom then turned to the unconscious man and kicked him as hard as he could. " that's for putting my dad in the hospital!" " feel better?' Tony asked. " yes, yes I do." " Hey, you said you deal with him a lot?" " Him and others. You've only dealt with Frankenstein and Ian. Now, they're pretty bad, but you only dealt with them once. We deal with them pretty often." Tony said. " you know, maybe you guys are tougher.. And maybe a little cooler than we gave you credit for." Jake said. ' Jake!" Rex said. " Zack, talk some sense into our brother." " I have to agree. I mean, as bad as we treat them, and they still save our necks? You have to give them credit." " Probably just to make us owe them one." " No, it was because it was the right thing to do. We saw you needed help and so.." ' So, it was just to keep up the goody two shoes act. I knew it!" Rex said. " But, Rex.." ' I don't wanna hear it. Let's go home." When rex wasn't looking, Zack and Jake shook Ben and Tony's hands. " Well, that's two down." Tony said. " You still gotta make Rex get along with you, Tom. You remember what Roxy said." " Yeah, I know. Hmph, ingrate. Next time, I'm gonna to let him get the tar beat out of him." " Oh boy." Tony sighed. ' Here we go again." Ben said. " Uh, what do we do about him?" ' Leave him. Even if we called the cops, he'd find a way out."

New munks

Off to Australia

" Say, Alvin?" " Yeah Britt?" " I was thinking, maybe we all need a vacation." ' Like, to where?" Theodore asked. Today the munks were having dinner at Xavier's, as Vinny had requested. ' Yes, where to?" Vinny asked. " Well, ever since we got back from tour, it's been one job or adventure after another. I say we need a break. But ,as for where, I don't really know." " I do.' Eleanor said. " Hmm?" " We haven't been to Sydney for a while. Maybe we should go to Australia and visit Olivia and Brad?' ' That's a brilliant idea, Ely. Olivia hasn't seen the kids in person for what? Two, three years?" " Yeah. I think she'd like it. What do you think Libby?" ' Hmm, I wouldn't mind visiting Aunt Olivia and Uncle Brad... Hey mom?" " Yeah?" " I'm named after aunt Olivia, aren't I?" " uh-huh. Just like Tom is named after grandpa tom." ' Why though?" ' Cause she was the first person who ever took care of me and your aunt Jeanette and aunt Brittany." " Oh, ok." "Cash? Your the patriarch around here. What do you say?" " Hmph, patriarch huh?" " Hail to the king." Alvin joked. " Well, I do remember that we got some really good cliff diving in when we were thirteen and we went there. And, I haven't been cliff diving in a long time. Alright, sure. Let's go." " Alright! Sydney look out! The munks are comin' to town.' Alvin said. " What were you saying about Alvin's maturity the other day, Eleanor?" Simon asked. " It comes and goes. But, hey, this isn't one of those serious times like it was back at the resort. We can let it slide." " I haven't been to Australia since my regiment went there for some special survival exercises when I was still in the corps." ' You did a lot in your short stint, didn't you?" Theodore asked. " Yeah." " Hmm, I do believe one of your father's brothers moved there a few years back." Patricia said. " To Sydney?" " Yes. Remember? Your Uncle Matthew?" " Oh yeah. Now I remember." " So, you want to go?" Cash asked. " Yes, please. I haven't seen Matthew in so long." " Andy?" " If Mum's going, and I guess the kids too, I can't let them go unattended can I? Of course I'm in." ' mom? You wanna go?" Brittany asked vinny. " I do miss chatting with Olivia. Sure, why not?" ' Xavier?" " Sorry. I've got some company business to deal with. I have other interests than just Chipmunk records that I have to take care of. But, thanks for the offer. Maybe next time." "Dave? Becky?" " We're free, aren't we David?" Miss Miller asked. " I think so." " Alright, then it's settled. We leave tomorrow." Cash said. ' Then we have to go home now and pack!" Brittany said. Meanwhile. ' Did you hear that?" Claudia asked. She, Ian and Claus had been listening in. " yes. But, who should we report to?" Claus asked back. ' you idiot. To the group first, to keep up appearances and then to master. I'm sure he could use this somehow." And later. " Hmm, Australia eh? Very well, sneak aboard their plane. Hijack it if you can. If not, get them in Australia." The male lead said. Later still. " o, what do we do master?' Ian asked. " Do as those fools from the group said. I'll will accompany you, but I will shall go by my own means. My powers have grown strong to allow me to travel that far. Once there. I want one of you to try to crash the plane into the ocean. If that one fails, then you two take care of them when you land. " ' Yes master, you are so wise. I will do the hijacking." Ian said. " and if he fails, we'll take care of them." Claudia said. ' very well. Go home and pack light." Atticus thought. " I know the munks. Those three will fail. If mere children could stop the toughest, ken, those three don't stand a chance. But, they should be able to weaken them for me. Yes, Australia. Partially barren wasteland. Perfect place for those thorns in my side to be put to eternal rest." And back with the male leader. " excuse me?" " Yes. Mr. Culler?" " I am ready when ever you want me to hypnotize those people for you." " Very well. Wait two more days. Make yourself comfortable till then. We'll have one hell of a welcome party ready for the munks if and when they get back." " Yes sir. By the way.." ' Yes?" " I have a limited psychic ability. I can sense thing from others." " You didn't mention this earlier." " I never thought I would come up. But, I sense that Mr. Hake and the vorstein's minds are not their own right now. Some other force is controlling them and, I can sense this force is moving with them to Australia.' " hmm, this could be a problem for us. If this force is powerful enough to infiltrate our group like that. Brother?" " Yes. It maybe out of character for me to say this but, I believe we must root for the munks to destroy this specter for us." I agree. The sooner, the better. Nothing must get in our way. And, we'll need the munks alive to keep the vorstein's, Ian, and Frankenstein distracted while we complete our plans." " You think this force intends to kill the munks?" " Yes, I do." " How do you know, sister?" " call it women's intuition." " Very well. Let us ' pray' that the munks destroy what ever has a hold on our dear ' friends'." ' Yes, let's pray the chipmunks will play capable assassins just this once and take care of our.. 'competition'." The female leader said." Excuse me?" ' yes, Professor crashcup? " I hate to be a bother, but I need a few more things from my lab to build the machines that will build what you want." ' Oh, no bother at all. We'll send some men to get them in the morning." ' thank you. Well, best get back to work." " That old fool. He has no idea why we're having him make that bomb.' the female leader thought.


	75. Chapter 75

_New munks_

_Hijack_

" _Why are we flying on a regular plane, when we have our own?" Alvin asked. ' Because, ours needed some inspections done today. Relax, we're not flying coach. We got first class. Lighten up." Simon said. " Alright, now, you listen to Dave and the others, okay?" jerry asked. " okay daddy." Debbie said. " Will you be okay with me gone though?" " I'll be fine. Charlene says I'm making great progress. You go have fun and I'll be here waiting for you." " Okay, love you daddy. Bye.' " Ladies and gentlemen, we are now cleared to taxi onto the runway, prepare for take off." A pilot said. Sometime later, they were entering the airspace for Australia.. " Alright, We should able to move about now." Claudia said. They got up and moved to the back, where two stewards and a stewardess were talking. The possessed three attacked and then knocked them out and took their clothes. Then, they locked them in the bathroom. Now, so long as the munks didn't see their faces, they would be fine. Ian made his way up to the cockpit. Luckily for him, the munks were to busy talking amongst themselves to notice him. Ian entered the cockpit quietly. He clocked both pilots in the back of the neck with the butt of his gun. And proceeded to dip the plane down. " Whoa! What the hell?!" Cash said. ' good day ladies and gents. I'm Ian Hawke. I'll be your new pilot, as the other two are currently... Sleeping on the job. I'd like to inform you that we will be experiencing some turbulence. The kind that comes from crashing a plane straight into the ground! Have a nice day." Andy shot out of his chair. " You keep the other passengers calm. I'll go deal with Ian." " Alright." " I can't believe he's hijacked the plane. Will they really go this far?" Andy thought. He entered the cockpit. ' Hello, you son of a bitch!' Andy said. Ian wasted no time in whipping out his gun. The shot rang through the plane. " Andy!' The munks all shouted. " OW! Damn! I'm lucky your a lousy shot." Andy said, clutching his left shoulder, where Ian had shot him. " Damn, I wanted the heart." " Yeah, that would have kept me from doing this!" Andy then punched Ian square in the jaw. And, he was out cold. " Man, you talk about somebody with a glass jaw. One hit is all it takes? Seriously!? Ian should be ashamed of himself." Ian then felt the plane more. ' Oh Hell!" He grabbed the controls and steadied the plane. " No nee to gain altitude, but we're way off course. Where can I land this thing? Wait! Is that what I think it is? Yes! It's an Australian air force base. Now, where's the radio?" He found it eventually. ' I hope I have the right frequency. Please let me be in luck." He tried it. ' Come in air force base. Come in base. This is transatlantic flight ..uh...291. Please respond." " We read you flight 291. What's your situation? Your flying into our airspace." "My name is Adrian McNab, sir. I am a former royal British marine in service to the queen of England. Now, I serve as body guard for the chipmunks. But, that is irrelevant right now. We just had an attempted hijacking. The pilots are both out cold. But, I managed to take back control from the hijacker. Over." " Well done, Mr. McNab." " thank you sir. But, I fear that we've lost to much altitude to make it to the Sydney national airport. May I request that I land the plane on your runway? It's kind of an emergency. I was shot in the struggle to take back the plane. I'm losing blood as we speak. I can already feel my head getting light. I need to land this thing now." " Of course. Your cleared to land. We'll have a medical team ready for you." " Thank you." _

_New munks_

_Going Rambo_

" _Damn, I thought I was quicker than that." "Hold still Andy and let them patch you up." Eleanor said." Now, this'll sting. We have to remove the bullet." ' I'm ready.' Once the bullet was removed, the sergeant on staff said. " Damn, your lucky. That's a colt .45 round. And, so close too. If that shot had been just an inch over to the right, you'd have been taking it in the chest.' " Yeah, I know." ' your taking this awfully well." ' didn't you hear my transmission? I was a royal marine. I've been trained to face things such as this head on, with no fear." " Believe me, he wasn't scared." A voice said. " that voice." Patricia said. " Hello Patty. Long time no see." " Matt!" " Mum, you didn't tell me Uncle Matthew worked here." " It slipped my mind. Your the, uh, what again?" 'Head chef for this base. But, I got wind of an Adrian McNab landing an American plane out on the strip, I had to come see. I swear though Andy, your going to die young if you keep this kind of thing up." " I'd have no regrets. I made a promise to myself and someone I cared very deeply for, that I would do whatever possible to help those in need." "Still on about that Kirsty girl huh?" " I can never let it go." " She.." " I know what she did, but, she requested I do this kind of thing. Perhaps it was a way to redeem herself, I'm not sure. But, I'm happy to do it." ' Senseless heroics. Heh, your just like your father. Jonathan was always off doing things like that. Even when his job didn't call for it. I had wondered if he'd make it to the age he did." ' Dad was a great man." " I'm not disputing that. It's just, you and your mother all I got left of my brother. It'd kill me if something happened to you." " Sorry, but that's how I am. Love it or leave it." " Ahem." " Yes, patty?" ' Do you think you could get you could get us a lift into Sydney? We're supposed to be on vacation, so I would like to start vacationing as soon as possible." " Um, sure. Uh, patty? Did I say something to offend you?" " No! I just want to get to what we came for already! We came to escape stuff like this, not bring it with us." " Bring it with you?" " It's a long story. Just, please Uncle Matt." " Okay, I can swing you a ride." " we'd best call Olivia." Jeanette said. " Good idea." Katrina said. Later. " oh man, you guys are trouble magnets aren't you?" Brad asked. " It's not like we expected Ian Hawke to show up and take over the plane!" Alvin said. " Thank god for Andy is all I can say." Brittany said. " Amen." Eleanor and Katrina said. " Ah, you guys." " Oh! Oh, did we just embarrass him? Did we just embarrass the great Adrian McNab?" Brittany said. ' Britt, lay off him. He's had a long day. Come on, let's get to the hotel so he can rest. We'll see you tomorrow, Olivia." " Alright, we still on for going to the tree?" " Of course." Later on still. While everybody was down stairs, enjoying the hotels built in restaurant, Andy laid in bed, trying to rest. " No good. I'm just to revved up. Maybe some cool air." He opened the window. He happened to look down. He clocked an eyebrow when he saw three figures conversing with an odd fourth. " I'm so sorry master. I didn't expect him to be able to hit me so hard." " Be quiet Ian. The three of you will wait in the wings and monitor them. If they go any where open tomorrow, destroy them." " Yes sir. Good night sir." " Hmm, Ian, Claus and Claudia. Sounded like they've all been brain washed by whoever that was. And, killing the gang seems to be on the agenda for him. Hmm, we're going into the outback tomorrow, and the three stooges are going to be following us. Heh, perfect opportunity to go over my survival training, with them as bait. I do believe, it is time to go Rambo."_

_New munks_

_Simple traps, big headache_

"_are you coming Andy?" Jeanette asked the next morning. "I got something to look into, but, tell me where you'll be and I'll find it. I'm good with geography." Simon and Jeanette told him the coordinates for the tree. " Ok, I'll be able to find it. See you later." Once they had left, Andy took off after them, tailing in secret. " If I follow far enough behind, they won't notice me and I'll get the drop on the three idiots." As it turned out, Andy was exactly right. Within minutes of the munks arriving at the tree, the three were making a move. Andy picked up a small rock, chucked it, beamed Claus in the head. " Hey, three stooges! Over here!" ' That's him!' Ian said. " Catch me if you can!" Andy was laughing to himself. He didn't feel that they would pose any problem to him, so he was treating this more like a child would than a trained commando. But, that didn't mean he didn't have a few tricks from his training picked out. Once he had eluded the three, by hiding in a tree, he waited. Claus stood perched just under him, looking. Andy pulled down a vine from the tree and tied it into a tight knot. Then he threw it down onto Claus and lassoed him. Then, he hung him high in the tree. " Just sit here and look pretty." Andy mocked. While the other two were looking for Claus and him, Andy hid behind another tree. He noted that the branches were both long and seemed to be springy. " hmmm, I wonder." h\He jumped and grabbed the one closest to Ian and pulled it down. Then he looped it threw Ian's belt and let go. The high tension, something Andy had learned quite a bit about from Simon, mostly having to do with the Prometheus suit, caused the branch to act like a whip and hurled Ian into the air. He came down some ten feet away, right onto some sharp rocks. " ooo. He'll feel that in the morning." Andy laughed to himself. ' right. So, moron one's in a tree and moron two's taking a natural acupuncture session over there. Now, where's queen bitch for the win?" " Queen bitch is right here!' Claudia said, before hitting Andy with a rock, right on his injured shoulder " Ah! Damn it!' Andy hissed. ' You've had your fun. Now I'm going to split your head open with this!" Andy fought through his pain and rammed his injured shoulder straight into the rock, shoving it into Claudia's stomach. " Ah! Damn it to bowels of bloody hell." Andy winced. His shoulder was giving him the worst pain he'd ever felt. What was worse, it wasn't just a straight sharp pain. It was a throbbing, sharp pain. Waves of pain kept washing from the shoulder. But, Andy knew he still had to tie up Claudia, and probably Ian, before this was done. Claudia was up by now and Ian had returned to the fray as well. Andy just did a spinning back fist to knock Ian out. " Honestly, he's completely useless unless he's armed." Claudia said. Andy came up to her. " You know, it's against m policies to hit women." " Good, that makes it easier to..." Andy had grabbed a particular nerve cluster in Claudia's neck and squeezed. " But, I have no problems doing that." He examined the damage he'd done. " yup. I don't know about the mystery man they were chatting with last nigh, but that ought to take care of them for a while. Ow. Damn, I need to ask Todd about my medical benefits when we get back." Andy then went off to the munks. " what the hell happened to you!?" Alvin shouted. " I fell in the street. Hit pretty hard." ' Pretty hard is right. This is damn near dislocated." Cash said. " I'm alright. Really." " Andy.. Where did you really get this?" ' 'sigh' I'm suck at lying huh?" ' I'm just good at reading people." " Ian wasn't the only one to follow you. Claus and Claudia did too. I got my shoulder messed up more, dealing with them just now. Let's just say that a large rock was involved. But don't worry, Claudia's out cold and so is glass jaw Ian. Claus is tied up in a tree. I doubt they'll give you much trouble. But, one thing bothers me." " What?" " there was a fourth man I heard them talking to outside my window last night. They called him master. I think that somebody is using them. You know Ian would never have the guts to hijack a plane and the Vorstein's wouldn't have the guts to go down with him." "Hmm, alright. We'll keep our eyes peeled. But, no more heroics for you on this trip, young man. You are to only relax and have fun for the rest of the trip, and that's an order. Do I make myself clear?" Eleanor said. ' crystal." " Good. Just let us handle it. But, hopefully who ever this is will let us enjoy our vacation. I mean, we're only here for a week. Can't we get some time to enjoy ourselves?" " That's why I.." " Ut! No more from you. I said relax. That means no more thinking about this." " Yes ma'am. So, what's the deal with this tree?" " It's where I was taken by Jack Franklin." ' and Xavier." Andy said. " yes, but, he was just a younger brother following his older brother's orders. I can't blame him and I don't. Besides, he's more than made up for it." " That's not the only thing." Jeanette said. " There's more?" " yes. This is also where Olivia found the thee of us later on." " Well, that's good." " And.." " There's still more Brittany?" " Yup. And this is the biggest of all. See those flowers?" " Yes. They look like those flowers you have at home. The ones you call the 'samandy' flowers." " They are." " I've never seen flowers like this. They kind of look like some cross between a rose and a tulip. What makes them grow like this? Is there some unique, natural fertilizer in this little patch of earth?" " You could say that." " What do you mean?" " The 'unique fertilizer' is our mom and dad, Sam and Mandy. Right under these flowers are where they're buried." " I see. So, that's why you call them the 'samandy' flowers. Because they carry a piece of Sam and Mandy in each one." " exactly." how did they die?" " They left us at this tree, hoping that somebody kind would take us in, when food got scarce. Later, they met with a tribe of aborigines. Big Olivia here said she met with a member of that tribe once who told her that story. He said that they tried to save a young kid from a flood when the dam the built burst. They managed it, but the current pulled them in and drowned them. They found down river the next day, cuddled together forever in death." Eleanor said. " My god. That's.. Amazing. So, I guess heroics run in the family from both sides." " Andy!" Eleanor said. " what?" " You said the 'h' word. Heroics. You can't even think bout that word until w get home." " what am I grounded?" " Until your arms gets better, you could call it that."" 'sigh' alright. Say, what's this craving in the tree? CS + KM? AS + BM, amongst others? What's that mean?" Patricia smiled. " Now, Andy dear, don't you remember craving your and Kirsty's initials into the tree in our back yard?" " Yeah.. Wait. These are..." " Carved them in myself when we came here when we were thirteen." Cash said. ' I see. Not only a shrine to the girls parents, but a shrine to your love." " Exactly." ' But, who's XF and FF?" " Xavier, and his late wife, Felecia. He carved that while he was here with us all those years ago." " It's a fine, fine shrine." " That's why we had to come out here." Meanwhile, Atticus had found his servants. ' Your all completely useless. Fine. Your free, but you have to make your own way back. 'Groan' If you want something done right. 'sigh' what a head ache. But, it must be done." _


	76. Chapter 76

_New munks_

_Day at the beach_

" _Are you sure this is the best idea, daddy?" Helen asked. " Just hold your breath and hang on. It'll be over in a second." " o-Okay." Then Cash jumped with Helen is his arms. Today, the Seville family had returned to their favorite cliff side beach. Cash decided it was time for Helen to over come her fear of falling. It wasn't the eventual end of the fall that scared her, it was the feeling of 'what if I never stop falling?'. So, Cash decided to take her cliff diving with him. Splash! " Nell, you alright?" Helen had kept her eyes open the entire time. " That..." she stuttered. " Was fun! Let's do it again!" Helen then swam to shore as quickly as possible and dashed to the cliff to go again. " There. I'd say she's cured." " Do you always have to do these things like that though, honey? I'm glad you take care of these things but..." ' Eh, just call me eccentric. I like the direct, scare them out of it method." ' Father of the year." Alvin joked to Brittany. " Mom?" " Yes Liz?" " Where's my bucket?" " Right here, why?" " Libby and I are going to make a huge sandcastle, right Libby?" " Yeah!" " Let me help with the structuring!" Helen yelled, swimming to shore. Alvin glanced over to Tom. " There's something not right with that boy." " What do you mean?" Katrina asked, somewhat agitated. " We're at the frickin' beach, in beautiful Australia, and he's just sitting there, meditating?" " He said it was the most tranquil place and he hasn't meditated for a while." " Bet he'd stop if I kicked sand in his face." Eliza said. ' Liz..." Eliza had already done it. " Don't, do, that." Alvin sighed. " 'pppbbbttt'. Yuck! 'grrrr' Liz!" Tom then chased Eliza into the water. " Well, at least it's a normal day at the beach for us." Cash said. ' Can I take these ice packs off now, Eleanor? It's really cold!" " That's the point. And no, the swelling on your arm hasn't gone down yet." " 'sigh' fine." " Andy, I know you had the best intentions for us and the kids in mind, but like your cousin said the other day, you keep this up... Look, just don't do anything too dangerous ok? The kids love you. It would crush them if something happened to you." " I understand. Can I at least go in the water for a relaxing swim?" " You let me wrap your arm up tight, and then you can." " Lord, I feel like I'm five again." Patricia laughed. " Look at those idiots." Atticus said to thin air. " Those are the fools who defeated my father? Looks as though I've been right all along. My father was a fool. But, he did leave me with that good piece of advice. I have to give him some credit. Now, all I have to do is crush them, then take care of those idiots from that group. But, where?" He looked farther down the street. ' Is that? Yes, yes it is. My squabble with them began at a church, and it will end at a church. Now, how do I get them there?" " Man, it's so nice just hanging out with you, Olivia." He heard Brittany said. " I agree. It's been so long since I got to have some time with you. You rally should come visit more often. I'd come visit you, but there's the money issue. We spent all that money you gave us, from finding that treasure and claiming the reward, on our house. What we have left of that, we use to pay insurances and such. We frankly don't have the money." " It's okay, Olivia. Soon as we get the chance again, we'll come visit." " you know what? I think we should at least make it a yearly thing, you know? Fly over here for a week, then drop off in Japan and visit Kimiko. What do you think honey?" " Sounds like a plan to me." Cash said. So, next year then?" " Sure." 'alright. I'll hold you all to that." " Cross our hearts and hope to die." " And you will. Yes, the blonde Australian woman. She's perfect."_

_New munks_

_Evil incarnate_

" _say, isn't that the church all the orphans went to?" Brittany asked. " Yeah, why?" " O, just reminiscing. I remember how you'd hide us in your little purse and sneak us in, so we could hear the service." " And you've grown like balloons being filled since then. Your huge now, compared to when I had you." ' Well, you didn't expect u to stay so little forever did you?" " Are you kidding? I was to busy getting over the fact that I was taking care of three baby girls, let alone the fact that they were chipmunks who could talk, and trying to hide you from Ms. Grudge, to think about that." " Aw! Olivia, do you miss being able to hold us in the palm of your hand?" " Maybe a little." " We all have to grow up." Jeanette said." And up you did. Really far up. Your almost as tall as me. I can't believe it sometimes. The three, who were my first time playing mother, are now mothers themselves." " Blame our husbands." Brittany said. Olivia laughed. Meanwhile. " Hello father." Atticus said, sitting in the confession booth with a priest inside the church. " Hello my son. Would you like to confess your sins?' " yes, forgive me father. For I have sinned.' " Tell me of your sins, my son." " I've killed three people." ' Oh my. That is truly heinous. But, turn your life over to the lord, and he shall heal your soul." " I'm not done father." ' Well go on my boy." "I've killed three people, and I'm about to make it four." " What?" Atticus then punched through the screen and choked the priest. " Yes, this'll do nicely.' Atticus said. He licked his hand, as some of the priest's blood was coughed up onto his hand when he strangled him. " hmm, type AB. Haven't had that in a while. Tart, but at the same time tangy. Like lemonade really." He looked around the place more. " Yes, this'll do nicely. Hmm, where's the registry and see if any other priests are on hand." A moment later. " hmm, no. He was the only one. Good. I'd hate to have to deal with any others. I want to focus all my power on the munks.' So, Atticus went about preparing to capture Olivia. " Alright. We're taking care of dinner tomorrow. Our treat." Olivia said. " But.." Jeanette said. " Don't worry. We may not have the money to fly in to visit you, but we have enough for me to able to make a suitable meal for all of us. Speaking of that, I'd best get as many of the cold things as I can ready tonight. Let's go, Brad." " Alright. See you guys tomorrow." At around midnight. " Hmm, hmm, hmm. Oh, bother. How does that song go again?" Olivia said. " Maybe I can tell you." " Ah! Who are you!? B-Brad? If that's you, this is not funny." " your right, nothing funny about this.' " Brad, I'm serious. Your scaring me." " Oh really? So sorry to hear that my dear." ' If you don't stop, I'm going to divorce you, I swear it." " Go ahead and try I'm not your husband." " Wha..mph, mhph!' Olivia tried to fight Atticus, but he was much to strong for her. Brad came in five minutes later. " Olivia, did you .. What the hell!? Looks like a war zone in here. I know Olivia isn't a five star cook but, what the hell is all this?" Brad became aware of a note, the only clean looking thing in the whole room, laying on the counter. It drew his attention because, while the rest of the room was barely recognizable, it was in pristine condition. As if it had been planted there. " If you want your wife back, have the munks meet me here in half an hour." " Oh god. Olivia!' " 'yawn' Hello?" Eleanor answered her cell phone. " Ely, it's Brad. Somebody's taken Olivia!" " What!?" Ten minutes later, the munks were at the church. " Hello, my friends." " Atticus!" " So glad you remember my name." ' Let Olivia go." ' Gladly. Go on now." _

_New munks_

_Secrets of the vampire_

_As the munks turned to leave, Atticus grabbed the pews in the front row and hurled them into the pews behind them, causing every seat in the building to pile up in front of the door. " Boys!' Dave shouted. They could still hear the guys, but couldn't see them. " Oh come on! Can we please not do this? We're on freaking vacation!" Alvin said. " Sorry to inconvenience you. But, this is all I have free to kill you. You'll find your a busy man when your trying to rule the world." " World domination? Come on! I play a ton of video games where that's the goal, and even I think that's lame." Alvin said." Lame? Ah, and after al the trouble I went thorough. Controlling those three idiots, coming to Australia, killing the priest on call, kidnapping the girl." " You killed a priest?!" Simon shouted. " Ain't I a stinker?" " Your a freak is what you are!" Theodore yelled. " Freak? Now, I take offense to that. I'm a vampire. Get it right." " Your half vampire." Cash said. " Your only half and we beat you once already, and now you don't have your brothers and sister to help you. It's four against one. Not to mention, we already took care of your dad, and he was a full vampire." ' Oh, but you'll find that I've become much stronger." " Whatever We kicked your sorry butt once, w can do it again." Alvin said, he and Simon dashing at Atticus. " This is for the priest! And, ruining our vacation!" Alvin said, trying to punch Atticus. HE beat them both to the attack and sent them fling back. "Ok, is it just me, or can he hit harder now?' Alvin asked. The four ganged up on him. However, ten minutes later, Thy were lying on the floor, trying to get to their feet. " Hurts more now doesn't it?" " How the.." ' That's my plan in action." Everybody outside was looking through the front windows. " Plan?" the girls said simultaneously. " That's it. I'm getting in there. Brad, help me with this." Andy said. " Andy, wait!' Eleanor said. " but.." ' I know, I know, but straining yourself more isn't going to help them. Just listen." " What plan?" Simon asked. " Since your about to die, I guess I might as well tell you. You see, you have a general understanding of vampirism. A vampire bites you, you turn. If that vampire isn't killed before dawn, and if your foolish enough to go running off into the night, you go poof. And, you crave blood. That' about what you know, right? Well, my father wanted to know more. So, he did some research and left his journal to me There was a particularly interesting article on how to turn a half-breed like myself into the perfect vampire. He deciphered many old texts for this knowledge. We half-breeds are nearly perfect as is. We have great strength, and are human sides protect us from the sun. But, we're still not exactly perfect. That's not good enough for me. So, I read the section. As it turns out, there's three simple steps to becoming the perfect vampire. One: You have to drain the blood of a fellow vampire. Two: You must drain the blood of a vampire who has fed on the blood of someone they truly hate. And three, my favorite: You must drain a member of your family. I realized that I could get that all in one shot. That's why I had my siblings fight you. They are already vampires, there's number one. When they fought you, they lapped up the blood the made you spill. I told them it would make them stronger and able to kill you faster. So, that's two. Then, there's three, already taken care of again. So, you see, you changing their minds didn't do a bit of good. I only had to track them down, and then I.. well, I think you know what I did, don't you?"_

_New munks_

_Resonance_

" _You.. You killed them!" Alvin said. " Not just killed, but drained them of their blood. Now, I'm perfect. What humanity I have left protects me from the suns rays. Other wise, it's not needed anymore. I'm the perfect vampire father wrote about." " Dante.. Elizabeth.. Virgil. You led them on, had them attack us, drink our blood, only so you could drink theirs for your own selfish gains." Simon said. " That's about the gist of it." " You monster!" Theodore yelled. Cash staggered to his feet. " I swore to Agito, the day he gave me my sword, that I would use my power, whether I had the sword or not, to fight evil when I see it. Get up guys. We have to take this sucker out! We can't let his crimes go unpunished!" " Right!" " Your going to punish me? Oh, this I have to see. Well, come at me then!" They put up a valiant struggle, but were not able to stop him. He slammed them into the alter, smashed their ribs with candle holders and finally tossed them to the floor, bloodied and battered. " Come on, we have to st..ugh! We have to stop him." Alvin said. Atticus shook his head. " Such a pity. Clinging to your innocence. Your thoughts of what is right and wrong. This is the real world boys, not everything is as black and white as good and evil. If you see a chance to take power, you take it. Simple as that." Cash got up and charged Atticus. Atticus punched him in the face and threw him back to the others. ' see? You still try to stop me, all because of your foolish sense of justice. Justice? A noble concept, but it doesn't really exist. Ever notice how the good die young, and the bad only get stronger? How is that justice? They say justice is blind? Justice is dead! Long dead! The corruption of this world, which you seem to believe I represent, is what killed it." " We're not to listening to you!" Theodore said. ' Cause we're going to destroy you!" " You are fools. Clinging to your old beliefs, while the truth stands before you. Running away from truth and back to the lies. Such immaturity. That's it isn't it? Your just big kids. Though you have the bodies of adults, at heart your still children." "We'd rather be that way, than be heartless monsters like you." Simon said. In their minds, the boys were screaming ' get up! Come on, get up!" This command was growing louder as the conversation drug on. It was beginning to reach the depths of their souls. " Heartless? No, I do have a heart. It's beating right now. But, I know what you mean. I'm a monster because I killed my siblings? They did not share the same mother, and even if they did, they were only born to serve as stepping stones to my glory. They existed to be used by me. Making me complete, that was their purpose. But, I'm tired. Your foolish 'innocence' won't let you listen So, I'll crush your skulls and free you." He placed a hand of cash's head. "Stop him, stop him stop him! We have to stop him!" The mental command reached certain ears. " Stop him, or we'll die!" As Atticus prepared to do Cash in, Cash's hands grabbed his wrist. " Your right, we can't afford to be innocent right now. We have to turn to something else!" He forced Atticus off him. " This strength, where does it come from?" Everybody outside could see Cash's claws. " Dark Cash?' Dave pondered. " That's right. We have to stand up and face our enemies, anyway we can." Alvin said, as he changed and got up. " Yes, it's a do or die situation." Simon said joining his brothers. " And now, Atticus, we're invincible!" Theodore said. " They've changed, but are completely in control?" Miss Miller said. " ''gasp!' This is...The research.. This is the 'resonance'. They've become like the twee-twee kings. They've merged!" Jeanette said._

_New munks_

_We four kings_

" _A Nice speech, but a set of claws won't help you." Atticus said. Alvin shot at him. Atticus, tough inhumanly fast himself, couldn't keep up. " what the.." Alvin buried his fist into Atticus's stomach. He doubled over. Simon took the advantage and slammed him into the floor. Theodore lifted him up and flung him over his shoulder. Cash caught him on the way down with a scissor kick to the spine. " They're using munk-fu!" Brittany said. ' This is like back then, but now it's permanent." Eleanor said. ' The tables have turned. Atticus is in for it now." Dave said. " Get him dad! Kill that monster!" Tom and the boys yelled. " Yeah, smash his face in!" Eliza and the girls screamed. The mothers looked at them. ' Can you blame them?" Andy asked. " No, I guess we can't, cause I agree. Take him out Alvin!" Brittany yelled. The guys repeatedly smashed Atticus into everything they could find. " I.. I'm losing!? But.. I'm the perfect vampire!" " Is that so?" Simon asked. " Your more vampire than human right? Then, our more susceptible to the vampire's weaknesses." Simon and Theodore charged Atticus and pinned him to the large stone cross in the back of the room. Alvin grabbed two solid steel crosses off the wall and drove them through Atticus's hands, pinning him to the cross. Simon took two more, thinner, crosses and twisted them around Atticus's feet, so he couldn't force himself off the cross. Cash, with the coup de grace, took the longest brass cross he could find and twisted it into a crown around Atticus's head. " What.. What is this!?" " The ultimate way to use God's power to banish evil, namely, you." Alvin said. Atticus felt white hot, searing pain shooting across his entire body. All the symbols of heaven were destroying his mostly vampiric body. He felt his body turning to ash, very slowly. " No! This is not possible! I'm the perfect vampire! No! This is not happening!" " Yes it is." Theodore said. " This..." Atticus mumbled, the ash reaching his mouth. As his head turned to dust, Cash said " This is justice." The pile of Ash that was Atticus blew away into the wind. " Andy, Brad, Dave! Stop. Your going to hurt yourselves. Those are really heavy.' Jeanette said. A few of the pews had been removed. The, now twee-twee king like and nearly superhuman, munks took all the crosses, twisted them back into their original shapes and then put them back where they found them. They then grabbed the pews, and one by one, put the place back the way it was. Finally, they reverted to normal. After hearing, over and over, from their kids how cool that all was, Cash said ' call he cops. We still have to report a murder." When the cops arrived, they gave them the story like this. They told them they heard a commotion while they were driving around and by the time they got inside the church, the priest was dead and the killer long gone. They didn't like lying, but they knew the cops would never believe the real story. " Their finger prints are all over here sir." ' We prayed for the killer to stopped before he killed again. We grabbed a bunch of crosses and such for extra effect." Alvin said. " That explains it. Dust for the killer's prints. And you. Your sure you didn't see him?" " No, sorry. Wish we could be more help." Simon said. " Alright. You can go."" Thank you officer." Eleanor said. They didn't fee right about lying to the police and they also wondered if basically crucifying Atticus was the way to finish hi. But, when they thought about how they'd avenged not only the priest, but Dante, Virgil, and Elizabeth, all their worries went away. " Phew! I wiped out." Olivia said. " then we'll take care of dinner tomorrow." Katrina said._


	77. Chapter 77

New munks

New age kings

" 'Yawn!" Alvin vaulted, literally, out of bed and was off brushing his teeth and putting on a robe to go down stairs and take advantage of the free breakfast the hotel offered. He kissed Brittany's cheek and walked out in the hall. Cash and the other brothers were waiting for the elevator right next to Alvin's room. " You guys feel as good as I do?" Alvin asked. ' Yup. Matter of fact, I've never slept better in my life. Did anybody have a weird dream like me?" Simon asked. ' Weird how?" ' well, I saw good me, with staff in hand, fighting evil me. Then all of a sudden, there's some shadow poised to attack, the two me's nod to each other, merge together and kick the living crap out of the shadow.' " You too?" Cash said. " You had the dream too?" " Yup." " Me too." Theodore said. ' And me." Alvin added. " Oh, here's our lift." Downstairs, they were sitting at one of the tables, eating. ' Man, last night kicked ass." Alvin said. " Atticus got what was coming to him." Simon said. " Damn straight." Cash said. " So, Sy, can we , like, turn it on and off at will now?' Alvin asked. " No idea." " What?" ' I haven't figured that much from the old twee-twee tablets out. yet. I know that was the resonance, the opening step. But, I haven't found what the rituals are or about the training they went through in order to turn it on and off at will yet." " Well, when we get home, you got to get to work. Pull your, Jean, and even Tony's brains together. Pull Nell into it for good measure. If the four of you working on it together can't do it, it can't be done." " Okay, okay Alvin. I'll get right on it." " For now, let's be glad we could do it just that once last night." Theodore said. " Yeah... Well, we'd better grab a few of these muffins and stuff for the girls and everybody else when they get up." " Okay." They arrived just in time to run into everybody sitting in a small room, a kind of living room for the guests on that floor to use. " We got breakfast." Theodore said. Later on, after treating Olivia and Brad to nice dinner, they were all back at Olivia's house. While the girls took this last opportunity to catch up with their first mother, and the kids watched TV, the guys were trying to figure out what to simply do with themselves. " 'sigh'" Alvin let out. " What's the matter Al?" Cash asked. "Honestly? I'm bored! Really bored1 I mean, you can't just fight and destroy the most evil SOB we've ever run into, all in one night, and then not be revved up the next day. Arg, I've got all this extra energy and no way to burn it. I'd kill to be able to beat up Ian or Claus and Claudia. Just somebody who's basically just there for us to pound on." " So, your spoiling for a fight?" " Yes!" Cash nodded to Simon and Theodore. " Let's go." " Go where?" " Back yard." ' why... Oh!" Cash nodded. The four brothers walked past their wives, which drew their attention, and went outside. " What the heck are they doing?" Brittany asked. Her answer came soon, as the four began to fight each other. After ten minutes, they each delivered one last hit to each other and fell over. " Guys!" Everyone rushed outside. Everyone cocked an eye brow when the four started laughing. " What the?.. They beat the stuffing out of each and they're laughing?" Brittany asked. " That burn up that extra energy?' " Oh yeah. Man, Theo, I didn't know you could hit that hard." " How do you think I fought Dante?" " Good point." " Just to let off steam? I love Alvin, but I will never understand why he does half the things he does." Vinny laughed. She understood. Tom had done worse to let off steam when he got revved up. Doing crazy things like this just to burn energy was nothing new to her. In fact. She expected it.

New munks

Lay over

" Oh, you have to be kidding me! Man, this is why I hate flying with out our plane!' Alvin said. " I agree, honey." "Me too.' Eliza added. " Three of a kind." Simon said about them. The munks had flown into London, to catch a connecting flight back to the states today. What was upsetting Alvin and family, was a small storm. It wasn't much really, but it was enough to make the airport cancel the flight until tomorrow. Alvin had nothing against London, but he'd been here once this year. He just wanted to get home. " Well, nothing we can do. Let's go get a hotel until tomorrow." Dave said. " 'tsk' fine. But, I am never flying with out our plane ever again!" Later on, Andy seemed to be thinking about something. " What the matter Andy?" Ben asked. " It's nothing Ben." " That's a lie, and you know it." Tony said. " What's the matter Andy?" Cash asked. " I was just thinking, it's been a few years since I've been to Kirsty's grave. I'm the only one who does." " You want to go?" " Well, it's not to far from here." " Well, let's go then." " But.." " We've got nothing better to do until tomorrow." " Well, alright." Later. " So, this is her?" Jeanette asked. " Yeah. Not much of a headstone. It was all her family would cough up for." " That's awful. I know what she did, but, she should at least get a proper headstone. Not some run of the mill piece of copper they stuck in the ground. That thing's just barely got room for her name, date of birth and date of death. That's not right." Katrina said. " Nothing can be done." " That doesn't change..." " There's a reason that you haven't forked over the money for a better tombstone, isn't there Andy?" Cash asked. ' Her family, what's left of it, told me not to." " Okay, now somebody in the Neal family needs to smacked, hard!" Katrina said. " Why's this getting to her?" Brittany asked Eleanor." ' No idea." " I heard that. You wanna know why?" " Uh, yeah?" " Because, When Macy ( Mrs. Choy, Kate's first human mom) died, nobody in the family would fork over any money for her tombstone. Her insurance was enough to pay for the casket and funeral. There was just enough left over to me, to get me to you guys all those years ago. That was her last wish, that I get whatever money was left to get to you girls." " And you didn't tell us before, because?" " Brittany, it's not something that's easy to talk about. I mean, look at Andy. He's one of the toughest guys I've ever seen and even he's having a time keeping it together." Eleanor said. ' You going to be ok?" Olivia asked. " I'll be fine, Libby." Adrian said." Well, I don't want to hurry anybody, but, we should go back to the hotel, get some dinner and call it a night." Simon said. The others nodded. " Can I just stay here for a minute?" Andy asked. " Take all the time you want. Guys, you go on. Vin, Beck, Debbie and I will swing around and get dinner and then come pick up Andy and then be back to the hotel. Sound good?" Dave asked. They nodded. " Okay, we'll be back in about ten minutes, Andy." " Okay Dave." Soon as they were gone, Andy sat down, cross legged, in front of Kirsty's grave. " The chipmunks." HE told her. " I work for them now. I'm their kids body guard. They've got some enemies and I help take care of them. So, uh, what have you been up to? Not much, right? That's what you always said when I asked you that, when you were still alive, remember? Ha-ha, good times." Andy smiled. He felt as though Kirsty could not only hear him, but was there, listening intently. It felt like she asked him to tell her everything that happened. ' Well, I joined the corps. I got kicked out cause of fight I had with a traitorous fellow solider. Mike Libby."

New munks

The ring

" I know about Mike's past. His father was an addict. PCP and stuff like that. Went crazy one night and tried to kill him. His mum protected him and was killed by his dad for her efforts. Then, his dad killed himself. That must have really disturbed Mike. But, that's no reason to be a Benedict Arnold. Oh! Ha! Did you catch that one Kirsty? Here I am, a former British marine and I'm talking like I'm an American solider back during the revolution. I've been in the states so long, I guess I have become American. I mean, I still have tea, with Vinny, the eldest looking chipmunk that was here. Her and her caretaker, well, more surrogate father really, Xavier Franklin. And of course mum. We live Xavier and Vinny, now that I'm working for the chipmunks. But, other than that, i don't really do what i used to when i lived here. But, you should see Xavier's house! It's a very nice place, you'd have liked it. Well, I was honorably discharged and he wasn't. So, score one for me I guess. Uh, let me see, what else?..." Andy went on to tell Kirsty about everything that had happened to him so far. ' And, that brings me to here." He said, pointing to his injured arm. " I got shot when one of the enemies of the munks tried to hijack our plane. I got back control, but i guess I'm just not as fast as i thought i was, huh? Um, then i banged it up more, fighting the hijacker and two of his mates. I tell you, that one, Claudia, i told you about what she's done already, but, she's a queen bitch if there ever was one. I a right, royal pain in the ass. Tried to clock me with a rock. I slammed this old shoulder here into the rock, even though i had a recovering gun shot wound. Yeah, this arm's taken some abuse over this vacation, but, it was worth it. To keep those darling kids safe, anything is worth. There are times when they feel like my friends. Well, whom i kidding, they are. But, there are times when, honestly, I imagine them to be mine. Then, I imagine you being their mum. You'd have made a great mum. No, I'm serious you would have. I loved you so much. But, at least I'm not alone so much anymore, right? I'd say I've done alright. I hope all I've done meets up with what you were expecting when you asked me to live both our dreams with that tape. You know, i still wear it. That friendship ring you gave me. I've got it on right now. It's just that, i wear gloves all the time, ones with half of the fingers cut off when it gets hot. I believe the style is called biker gloves. Well, my ring's always hidden under those gloves. But.." He removed his left glove. " I've never taken it off, ever since you gave it to me. I keep right here, right on my left ring finger, just like you told me to." " Andy." " Oh, hello, Vinny." ' Have a nice chat with Kirsty?" " Yeah. I feel much better now." " Hmm, what's that?' She asked, pointing to Andy's ring. " Oh this? This is a ring Kirsty gave me a month before she died. It's a friendship ring. See, it says ' together forever' right there." " Uh, Andy." " Yes?" " I'm no expert, but, living with Xavier as long as i have, I've seen a lot of jewelry come and go. After all, Xavier does own a jewelry store or two. So, i can tell this isn't a friendship ring." ' What is it then?" " Andy." Dave said, walking up with Miss Miller. They'd been listening until now. " I think that's an engagement ring." " That's exactly what i was about to say.' Vinny said. " An engagement ring? Seriously!?" Yep." " But, why did she.." " Probably just to shy to ask, so she called a friendship ring. " Miss Miller said.' I see. Well though some might say it's to late." Andy walked over, got down on his hands and knees and kissed Kirsty's head stone. " I accept your offer Kirsty. Or should i say, Mrs. McNab."


	78. Chapter 78

New munks

Widower

" Well, did you say all you wanted with Kirsty?" Simon asked. " yeah. I did.' " Huh, you got one glove on. What, your hand get too hot?" Alvin asked. " No." " I've never seen that ring before." Katrina said. " That's because I usually have my gloves on over top of it. Um, Mum?' " Yes dear?" " Let me ask you a question." " Okay." " I took my glove off to talk to Kirsty. She gave me this ring month before she..." " Killed herself?" " I didn't want to drudge that up, but yes." " Go on dear." " Well, She told me that this is a friendship ring, but, Vinny says it's a.. A..." " A what?" " An engagement ring." Vinny said. ' What? Really?" " Oh yes. I've seen plenty of jewelry from Xavier's stores, and I know just from looking at it. It's an engagement ring." " And all these years, I've only thought of it as a friendship ring." " I see. So, she candidly asked you to marry her." " Yes. That's why I want to ask you this." " I'm listening." " If I had known this back then, would you have approved?" " Of you marrying her?" " Yes." " Of course I would have. Kirsty was such a sweet girl. I loved her like my own. It broke my heart after she killed herself. I would have fully agreed to it." Patricia said. " Maybe, if I'd been smart enough to figure this out sooner, me marrying her, even though we would have been young, maybe it could have saved her." " Andy, beating yourself up won't help anything. It'll only make you feel worse." Cash said. " But, I can think of so many things that could have happened." " I know. But, thinking like that will only lead to nightmares. Remember what happened to me when I was paranoid about Frankenstein and what he could do my family here. Believe me, those kinds of dream you don't need." " Yeah, besides we're all right here with you. We're all family. It's our job to comfort you. If you want to cry, we won't laugh." Katrina said. " We love you Andy. You can cry in front us." Helen said, taking Andy's hand. " But, I'm a grown man." " Even grown men need to let it out from time to time. It's a necessary part in dealing with these kinds of things. Doing it doesn't make you any less of a man." Jeanette said." Jeanette's right. Have a good sob, it'll make you feel better." Brittany said. " I'll be fine." " Ok. If your sure.' " I am. Mum?" ' Yes dear?" " I.." " Oh, after he was told what the ring was, he got down and kissed her headstone. Accepting her offer." miss Miller said. " That's what I was about to say.' " Well, good for you. You feel better about it now?' " yes. It's a double edged sword, but it does make me feel better.' Cash and Alvin looked to each other and grinned. " Did you really now? Technically, that makes you engaged." " I guess so.' " Okay, then, by the powers invested in me, I pronounce you a widower. But, still technically married, in some weird way. Now, you have to do it." Alvin said. " What?" " The tradition we Seville's set up when we got married." ' You mean?" Theodore asked. " Yup." Theodore grinned too. " What's this tradition?" " You have to stand on your head, and spell your 'wife's' name out." Theodore said. ' Seriously? No way am I embarrassing myself like that." Simon came up behind him. " Oh yes you are. I had to when I married Jeanette. So, so do you." " This I have to record." Eliza said, pulling out her phone and turning on it's video function. " Your not letting me out of this, are you?" " Nope." the four brothers said. " 'sigh' fine." Andy flipped onto his head. " K-i-r-s-t-y.." " Whole name. Middle too." ' 'groan' K-i-r-s-t-y A-s-h-l-e-i-n M-c-N-a-b. There, happy?" ' Yup." " Liz, if you recorded that." " I didn't. I promise."

New Munks

Target: chipmunks

The next day. " Well, that's odd. Nobody's here to greet us. I know we called Harry and told him to tell everybody else that we'd be home today." Cash said. " Maybe they're all busy?' Jeanette asked. " Everybody? Well, I guess it's possible. Not very likely, but possible." Simon said. " Well, we might as well go home." Alvin said. An hour later. " Hello?" Katrina answered the phone. " Kate?! Great, you home." " Oh, hey Harry. Man, have we got some stories for you. You and Char should come over so we can.." " Not now, Kate! Where's your husband!?" " Oh, ok. Cash? Here." " Hello?" " Cash, we need you at the label, now!" " what's going on?" " I don't know! All of a sudden, Jerry, Eli and Todd went nuts and started chasing and attacking me Char, and the kids. Right now, I've got them locked in the recording studio, but their beating on the walls and door, really hard. I have no idea what's up with them." " Okay, just keep them locked up. And Al and the others and we'll be there soon." " Dad? What's wrong?" " Todd, Jerry and Eli have gone nuts at the label. They attacked Harry and gang. They could be in trouble. By the way Harry sounded, it sounds like they're acting like wild animals." " I'm going too then. If Roxy's in trouble..." " Me Too. I can protect Jake with my power." Helen said. " Can't talk you out of it, huh?" " Nope!" ' Okay, Kate, stay here. Let me know if Harry calls again.' " Okay honey." Meanwhile. " Simon!" " Mom, what's wrong?" " I don't know. Xavier, Geneva and James attacked me, Patty and Andy as soon as we got home. They're acting like they're possessed. We've got them locked in the basement." ' You too?" " Huh?" " Cash just called. He's on his way. Apparently, the same thing's happening to Harry and family at the label, only it's with Jerry, Todd and Eli. What, ahs everybody we know gone nuts?" " Please honey, I'm scared." " Okay mom. We'll swing by and check on things." " Thank you Simon." " Tony! We're going to Grandma Vinny's first." " Okay, dad." The munks approached Xavier's house. " Stay out here, just in case." Theodore told them. All six were present. " Where are they?" " Still down stairs." "Okay, guys, you hold them down and I'll use the tranquilizer pellets I brought with me. They'll be good and knocked out, at least till we figure out what to do next." Simon said. The plan succeeded. " OW!" they heard coming upstairs. " What was that?" Andy asked. " Ow! Cash stop!" " That's tom!' Cash said. When they came outside, they saw Cash Diggs attacking Tom. Tom was trying to dodge, as he didn't want to hurt his friend. Andy swept him and held him up in the air. " ARG! KILL THE CHIPMUNKS!" Cash yelled. " what did he just say?" Eliza asked. " Andy." Cash said. Andy nodded and harmlessly knocked the young boy out. " okay, what did say!?" Eliza demanded. " Come to think of it, Xavier and the gang were screaming the same thing." Alvin said. " Why would our friends, our extended family basically, want to kill us?" Simon asked. ' No idea. But, we'll figure that later. We need to get over to the label. Mom, you and Patty go over Dave's. We sent the girls over there. We also told Miss Miller to go over there, just in case. You two go over their for safety. Andy, you come with us to the label." Cash aid. " Okay, but shouldn't the kids go with Vinny?" " They're coming to make sure Harry's kids are alright." " I thought they hated them." ' As group, they do. But, individually, they each have a soft spot for one of them." ' Okay, let's go. Mum, do what Cash says. We'll figure out what to do after we take care of this." ' Okay, be careful honey."

New munks

The answer: electricity

" Dang, they do sound pissed. What did you do Harry?" Alvin joked. ' nothing! They just came after us as soon as we got here. All the workers have either taken off or are hiding. They're afraid this could be some ploy by the group, like when they attacked the label while you were on tour." " I don't blame them. I'd hide too, if I was a wimp." Alvin said. " Alvin!" Simon said. " What?" " Not everybody is like us. Not everybody instantly has a plan for these kinds of things, like we do. Most, normal people would hide. And, we, obviously, are not normal." " Okay, okay. Sorry." " Kill the chipmunks!" " Yeah, we heard you the first time!" Alvin said. " Is it safe to come out Harry?" " Yeah Char. Come on out. The guys are here." " what are you doing here?" Rex asked Tom, hatefully. " I didn't come for your sorry tail, that's for sure, you ingrate. I came to make sure Roxy's okay." ' Thanks Tom." Roxy said. " Well, you can see she's just fine. So, you can go home now. Go on, run along home to mommy." " Oh shut up Rex." " Make me." " Any time you wanna go, just say so." " Bring it!" " Stop fighting, boys. Now's the not the time for this stupid alpha male crap." Charlene said. " Okay, mom." ' Whatever you say Charlene." Tom and Rex still glared at each other. " Oh come on Rex! Can't you get along with Tom for just five minutes!?" Roxy asked. ' Just because your in love with him, doesn't mean I have to like him." " I am not in love with him! I like him, but I'm not in love with him. But, that's not the point. He came to check on us, out of the kindness of his heart. Don't you think you should thank him? At least thank him for coming to check on me, your own flesh and blood sister!?" " Nope." 'If you weren't my brother, I'd smack you hard right now. What's wrong with you? He comes to make sure I'm okay and you don't thank him? Do you really love me, Rex?" ' Of course, your my sister. But, I don't need him to help me!" " But, Rex, he had the sense to make sure he's armed! And, in case you didn't notice, Eli, Todd and Jerry are all twice as big as you are. And, sword beats fist any day." ' Oh, be quiet Roxy." " I hate to admit it, Rex, but Roxy has a point." Eliza said. " I hate to say it, but thank you, Eliza." Roxy strained herself to say. " Rex..." " I don't want to hear it, Liz." " But.." " We'll talk later." Eliza shook her head. Then an idea dawned her. She spun Rex around and kissed both of his cheeks. " I'll do that again if you don't fight with Tom anymore until this is over." " I uh..." " Don't you like me, Rex?" " Well, yeah." " Think I'm cute?" ' Yes.' " And like to get little kisses like that from me?' " yeah." " Then please, don't fight with Tom till this is over, okay?" " 'tsk' fine." " Thank you Rex." Roxy pulled Eliza off to the side. " How did you do that?" " It's the Seville charm." " Whatever. Uh, thanks." " Your welcome, I guess." " Now, guys, you two are two tough young men. You could come up with an idea on how to take care of this." Nikki told Tom and Rex. "Or, you could leave it to Tony." " Don't start Nikki." Rex said. " Rex." " Yes, Liz?" " No fighting with Tony or Ben either.' ' Oh come on!' " I mean it Rex." " Man, the things I do." Rex mumbled. " Fine." " Uh, Harry?" " Yes, Alvin?" " Did those cables get damaged when you locked them in there?" "Didn't notice, But I guess your right. That's dangerous." Just then, Jerry tripped over the cable and received small shock. ' Jerry!' ' Oh, my head. Guys, what's going on?" Jerry looked at the others. ' What's wrong with them?" " Did that shock snap Jerry out of it?" " yes, it somehow reversed what ever was wrong with him." Simon said. " Jerry, shock Todd and Eli too.


	79. Chapter 79

New munks

Should be safe

" Okay, Todd, what happened?" Simon asked. " The last thing I remember is going to a hypnotist show. Then, I'm waking up here. I vaguely remember tearing up posters of you guys around the office..." " So, the group the hypnotized them into attacking us?" Theodore asked. " Apparently, and it seems to be a kill on sight order. They have no problems with the word chipmunk, but as soon as they see one of us, as what happened between Todd and our poster, they attack." Simon said. " Okay. So, Todd, who else went to the show?" Cash asked. " There us three, Xavier and Butler and maid." " We know that already." Alvin said. " Who else?" " Uh, Frankie and Elsa had to work, so we took Vick. Uh, Jesse, Juliet, and Kathy. Um..." " Oh, Jason, Heather, and Cash went too. Ginger was left at Jason's parents." Eli said. " And, Larry, Raya and Jessica." Jerry added. ' Oh crap!" Alvin said. ' What?" " After took care of Cash, X, James and Geneva at Xavier's place, we sent Patty and Mom over to Dave. And, we sent the girls and Miss Miller over there too. We thought we were sending them to safety but, with Larry right next door and Jason and Jesse not too far away.' " We sent them into a trap!" Theodore said. " Harry, are there any stun guns, or tazers around here?" Cash asked. " Yeah, in the security room." ' Go get us some. We'll use them to snap the others out of it, just like the cables did for the guys." " Okay." " What do we do?" Charlene asked. " Take care of these guys. They all look like their going to be sick at any second." " Okay." " And us?" Zack asked. " Uh.. Hmm, I know. The label should be the safest place. I want you guys to call Frankie and Elsa and get them to bring Vick over, so you can shock him and fix him. After that, keep our kids company." " What? Dad!" Tom yelled. " No buts. While this may be the safest place, it doesn't mean it's completely safe. They could attack it while we're gone and if that happens, they'd need all the help, they could get. Besides..." Cash knelt and whispered into his son's ear. " This'll give you more time with Roxy." "Oh, I gotcha. Okay, leave it to us!" ' ahem!" Rex said. " and them." Rex groaned, but he took it. It was the best he was going to get out of Tom after all. " Okay, here you go Cash." Harry said. " Okay. Let's go. And Harry?" " Yeah?' ' Don't let our boys kill each other." " You got it." Over the course of a hour, the guys went about shocking, and thus restoring, everybody that had been hypnotized. After this, the guys had a meeting at Dave's house. " I'll get you something to drink. Debbie, wanna help me?" " Sure!" " So, the group has a hypnotist in their employ?" Simon asked. " I guess so. We should be cautious of any other hypnotists for a while." Cash said. " Right." Meanwhile. " Very good Mr. Culler. Now, they'll most likely get a statement from their various friends about what you look like. Wear this disguise, with this mask, and they'll never recognize you. Hypnotize the chipettes and then your job is done." ' yes sir. I'll get on that tomorrow." " Very well, you can go to bed now." " Thank you. Good night." The next day. " Come one, come all1 Come see Caleb the great. He will astound you, mystify you and maybe, just maybe, take over your mind." An announcer said. " New thing up on the board walk.' Alvin said. " You don't think this could be our guy, do you?" Theodore asked. " No. Completely different guy. Look at the poster. We should be safe here. So, everybody, wanna go see the show?" Alvin said. " Sure!" Later. " Now, I'll need four lovely ladies to volunteer for my next trick. Umm, oh! The chipettes! How fortunate. Must be my lucky day. Please, would you come up?"

New munks

What ever happened to the Misses Seville?

" Now, Brittany, you are in a deep sleep. When I count to three, you will wake up and will not remember anything that happened while you were hypnotized." "Caleb' leaned into to whisper to her. " But, you will having the waking nightmare of your greatest fear. What is it?" " Monophobia. I'm afraid of being alone." " When I count to three, you will forget everything but that. Everyday, no matter how many people your around, you will see no one but yourself and live your greatest nightmare. Your dreams will be horrible. Your life just as bad. Do you understand?" ' yes.' " Good.. Now, one, two, three." " Huh? Oh, Hi guys!" she noticed Alvin and Eliza were dying laughing. " what's so funny daughter dearest? Or shall I ask your father?" The father and daughter hushed up. They weren't about to admit that Caleb had gotten her to act like a mother Grizzly. He had each of the chipettes act like an animal, all the while implanting the same command he had Brittany. Jeanette had been a bee, and was told to see snakes everywhere and dream nightmares of them. Katrina was a crow, and was told to dream she was in a small room with the largest bee ever. Her two fears: the phobia of confined spaces and the phobia of bees. Eleanor was a snake, and told to dream she was on the highest building and her depth perception was thrown way out of whack, making the tiniest drop, like the one from one stair to the next, seem like jumping off the empire state building. That night. " Ugh, mrrm, no. Please, Alvin, Eliza, don't leave me all alone. Please no! Oh God! I'm all alone. I'm alone, nobody's here if i need them. I feel so cold. Please, somebody! Anybody!" Alvin shook his wife. " Britt? You okay?" " Alvin?" " I'm right here babe." " here? I can hear you, but I can't see you." ' Britt... You haven't gone blind have you?" " No. I just can't see you." Alvin grabbed her and turned her face towards him. Let's see, Simon told me that the obvious sign of blindness is cloudy eyes. Your eyes are fine." " But, i still can't see you honey." " Britt, I'm staring right into your eyes." " i Know but.." ' It's okay. Just sleep it off. You'll be fine in the morning.' ' But, i can't sleep. I keep having these terrible dreams that you and Liz and everybody else left me and I'm all alone. " Britt, Eliza's in her room and I'm right here. We're not going anywhere and we're never leaving you." Alvin fell quiet. HE pondered what to do now. "Call Simon or Cash? No, they're probably asleep. And, Britt's my wife. It's my job to take care of her." " Alvin?' ' Yeah?' ' Please, stay up with me. I can't sleep and when your not talking, I feel so alone. Hearing your voice let's me know your still here." " Okay Britt. No problem." Meanwhile. " Ah! No, no! Don't sting me! Please God no! Oh God, somebody help me! I can't get out of this room! Somebody kill this bee!" " Kate, Kate! Wake up Kate!" ' 'gasp, pant, pant' Cash?" ' Yeah it's me Kate. Your okay. It was just a nightmare." " Cash, the bees." ' There are no bees, and no little room. See, we're in our big old bedroom, and there are no bees." " But, there's one right behind you!' " Kate, that's the lamp. There's no bees in here." " I know I'm a lot of things, but crazy I'm not! There's a huge bee right behind you." ' I'm not calling you crazy honey, but there is no bee here." " Why can't you see it?" ' Don't take this the wrong way, but i think it's all in your head. Probably just a waking dream. Your nightmare seemed pretty surreal, probably real enough to cause this. Here, snuggle closer to me and I'll keep you safe from the bees." " Okay." " Uh, Theodore?" ' What?"" Did these steps used to be so steep?" " Ely, those steps down stairs are the same size they've always been." " But, they look so high up. Oh no, my acrophobia's kicking in. I want water, but I'm just too scared. These steps look huge!" " Okay, I'll go get you a cup." " Thank you dear." " Ah!" What is it Jean?" " Simon! There are snakes everywhere on the floor!" What? Jean, there are no.." Jeanette shivered "Oh, this is so embarrassing I need to go to the bathroom, but there's no way I can with all these snakes." " 'sigh' fine, I'll carry you. I'm not afraid of any snakes." The next morning. " Oh man. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night." Cash said. He and his brothers were playing together over the newest xbox live. " Tell me about it. Brittany's gone weird. She can see everything else but me and Liz. Her monophobia has gone into overdrive." " That's nothing. Kate keeps seeing bees that aren't there and can't even go near a closet." " I go you beat. I had to carry Ely downstairs. She believes our steps to and from upstairs have become like mountains." ' And I've got you beat. Jeanette hasn't left the bed. She sees snakes every on the floor and there aren't any. I've had to carry her to the bathroom three times today." " Are our wives finally snapping? Funny, I always thought that, if any of us went crazy, it'd be the four of us first." Alvin said. " Hmm.." Cash said. " what is it Cash?" ' I was just thinking. None of this crap started until we went to that hypnotist show. I know it's a long shot but, maybe that guy was the same one who hypnotized our friends and was wearing a disguise, and one hell of a mask, so he could hypnotize our wives. Maybe, just maybe, i know it's a long stretch but maybe when he snapped them out of their trances, maybe he didn't snap them out of everything." " There's one way to tell." Simon said. " How?" ' I got my hands and a brain wave reader. Remember after we fought MR. L? They used one on us to find out how close we were to coming out of our tranquilizer induced comas, by monitoring our levels of brain activity. Well, I've discovered some information that states that those who have been hypnotized have an irregular brain wave pattern that's fairly easy to detect with these machines. Be over in an hour. Like Cash said, this may be a stretch, but, it's all we got." One hour later. " Man, even with the long stretches, you have to be right, don't you?" Alvin asked Cash. " It's a curse. I don't know what i did to deserve it. But, right now, the question is what do we do about this?" " If we knew how he did it, we could find a way to reverse it." Simon said. " Hmmm." " Oh no, Cash is going hmm again. What is it this time, bro?" Alvin asked. " Simon. You still remember the brain dive experiment?" ' Yes.. Oh wait. Your not thinking.." ' Yup. Spoken like the man who's been me. If we rebuild that machine, we could go into the girls minds, find this stupid hypnotic command causing this, destroy it and get on with our lives." " But, Cash, we promised the girls.." ' i know. But, these are desperate times and the girls are freaked out of their minds." " You have a point. 'sigh' fine. I don't want to, but i guess have no choice. Keep the girls calm and I'll have one built in an hour." One later. " All I'm saying Simon is that Kate better not end up being the man of the house." ' Whatever, let's just get this over with so we can smash thing like we promised and get on with our lives.' Cash entered Kate's mind, destroyed the giant bee and lead out of the small room. Simon swatted away all this snakes and freed Jeanette. Theodore rescued Eleanor from the edge of an enormous cliff and cured her. Alvin found a small speaker box, continuously repeating ' your all alone'. So, he smashed it and brought Brittany out of it. " Okay, good. The girls are cured and none of us are in the wrong bodies. Mission successful. Okay, Simon. Get rid of this thing. We'll get the girls to bed for some rest."


	80. Chapter 80

New munks

Fishing trip

" Kick it into next week!" Alvin yelled. Today was team chipmunk's first tournament game. Now that they had Jessica Talbot and Vick Frankenstein filling the seven player roster, and Debbie as back up, they were ready for tournament play. However, they found out that all the games they had played to this point were qualifiers. Now, they were playing to get to into the quarter finals. " Sink it!" Olivia yelled to Tony. He aimed the shot and took it. " Yes!" " Team Chipmunk wins! They're going to the quarter-finals!" The announcer yelled. " That's my boy!" Simon yelled. Jeanette grabbed his hand and they ran onto the field. Eliza came up to her father, sighing. " What's the matter kiddo?" Alvin asked. " Oh daddy, you know!" " you wanted to sink that goal, didn't you?" " Of course!" " Liz, you and Tom get the spot light all the time. Just let him have this one." " Okay." Eliza sighed. Alvin swept his daughter into his arms. ' Hey, let's make it to and win the finals. You'll get the winning goal then, I'm sure of it. Okay?" ' Okay." Eliza said with a slight giggle. Alvin kissed his daughter's cheek. " That's my girl." At this point, Xavier, with Brittany in tow, came up. "That was good coaching, Alvin. Maybe you don't need me." " are you kidding me? I was sweating bullets out there. No, I think this team will have two coaches for a while." " honey?" " Oh, brittany1 You okay, honey? Not too much excitement today? I mean, with the hypnosis and everything the other day, you must be wore out." " I'm fine honey. Now then, our daughter wants more attention? Come on, baby girl. We drown you in it at home. Isn't that enough?" " Yeah, but.." "Don't you and your cousins have that store opening next Saturday?" Xavier asked. " yeah, what about that Liz?" Alvin asked. " Okay, okay. I get it." " Face it guys, Liz is just like her parents at her age." Theodore said, as he led the other munks over. " Oh come one Theo!' Alvin shouted. " Not this again!" Brittany added. ' Just kidding." As Miss Miller, leading any stragglers , came up, Brittany let out a yawn. ' I knew it, you are still tired." Alvin said. " I am 'yawn' not!" " Then why are you yawning ?" " Okay, I'm tired, happy?"" I hate to say it, but we may just need another vacation." Simon said. " Yeah, we're all tired." Cash said. " Yeah, but you guys have that power to fall back on." " Now, Britt, It's not like we can turn it on for a pick me up." Simon said. ' Yeah. Isn't that what coffee's for?" Ben asked. The adult munks laughed. " But, we are kinda worn out." Jeanette said. " Now's a good as time as any then." Miss Miller said. " what do you mean, mom?" Eleanor asked. " Remember may?" " Your cousin in Ireland?" " Yup. She sent me these tickets to a three day, free stay, at an exclusive spa for this weekend. Said she couldn't make the flight, so she sent me them. There's enough for all of us and all the girls we know." Everyone? Hmm.. Wow, twenty-one! That's a lot of tickets!" " Yup. So, how about it?" " Sure. We leave tomorrow?" " Yup. Then, we don't come back till Monday." " Then let's go!' Eliza said. " What about us?' Theodore asked. " I think I have a solution." Todd said, walking up. ' What's that Todd?" Cash asked." You remember my brother Raymond?" " Oh yeah, how is Ray any ways?" " He's fine. Matter of fact, he's invited me on a fishing trip this weekend. It'll last as long as the girls spa trip. I can't make it, but he said your welcome to tag along if you want, and bring as many guys as you want." " Yeah, counting all the guys, that's about even. Sound good to you guys?" Alvin asked. " Sure!" " Alright then. Let's get packing and call the others." Brittany said.

New munks

Geneva's lesson

" Bloody hell!' Andy said. Today, he was packing to go on this massive fishing trip with the guys. However, as soon as he had gotten half way through packing, his back had started itching fiercely. And, it was a roving itch. The kind that started in one spot, then once that spot was scratched, it moved somewhere else. Now, it was in a spot on his back he couldn't reach with his hands.. " Oh, this itch is killing me!" He spotted a spare clothes hanger. He picked it up and began using it as an improvised back scratcher. But, it wasn't good enough, so he started using the hard plastic hanger to beat on the itch like a hammer on a nail. " Andy?" Geneva asked, walking into the room. " Um, what are you doing?" " I know that it look like I'm just mindlessly beating on my back, but there's a good reason." " and that is?' ' I've got a killer itch and I can't get at it." " so, your beating yourself with a hanger, to kill an itch?" ' Yes!" He continued to strike at the itch. " give me that thing!' Geneva said, yanking the hanger from his hands. " If you keep that up, you'll just end up with big red welts on your back. Here, lift your shirt up and turn around. I'll scratch you back for you." " Oh, your an angel, Geneva." Andy said, turning around. " Here?" " More to the left." " Here?" ' Not quite." " Right here?" " Little more to the right. Ag, it's like it's right under my left shoulder blade! " Oh, right here." She said, vigorously scratching the spot with her nails. " Oooo, ah! That's it. That's the spot." Andy said. " Ah, thank you Geneva." " Not a problem." As Geneva scratched Andy's back for him, she began to think. " Andy?' " Hmm?" " Tell me something." " Ah, that did it. You got it. Thank you. Now, what do you want to know?" " Your welcome. And uh, I'm not quite sure how to ask this." " What?" " Do you, um, find me, uh, um, attractive?" "Well, I'm more into women my age, but yeah. Your really pretty, Geneva. I'm guessing, twenty two?" " I wish. I'm thirty-two." " You certainly don't look it." " I'll take that as a complement." " Why do you ask though?" " Cause I don' want your first time to be with a woman you think is ugly.' " What?' Andy received no answer, but he did receive something. A kiss from Geneva, a woman at least fourteen years his senior. " what was that for?" " Don't get the wrong idea. It's just that I've never been the type to just sit back and let people not enjoy the simple pleasures God gives us in life. I've spoken with your mom. She told me that, after that Kirsty girl, you never could open yourself up to a girl. Meaning, you've never kissed a girl, have you?" " I uh.." ' I knew it. That's why I did that. To show you how to it feels." ' Well, thanks then." ' Not a problem. If you ever have any questions, I'm always around." " Okay. I do have one.' 'What?' " well, two actually." ' And they are?" " How long have you worked for Xavier?" " Fourteen years. I met the munks during my first year working for him. I was eighteen then. And your other question?" " Could you explain the ' bases' to me?" ' The bases. Oh, I know what you mean. Okay, sure." ' I'm listening." ' Well, like in baseball, a 'run' starts with a 'hit'. In this case, the 'hit' is a couple's first, basic kiss. From there, we move to first base, French kissing, or kissing with tongue. Hmm.." She grabbed Andy and French kissed him. " That's how that feels." " O-okay." Andy stammered. " Now then, second base is basically fondling. Feeling the body through the clothes. Sorry, I'm not doing that one." " I know. Wasn't expecting you to. "Okay. Third base is doing anything that involves getting, you know, naked. I'll your imagination go wild there. And, a home run, is full blown sex. Got it?" " Yeah." " Good. Now, Andy, take that knowledge out there. I know you'll never love a girl like you did Kirsty, but, life's too short to sit and mope all the time. You've got to enjoy life while you've got it, cause you never know when you'll just nod off and never wake up. Seize the opportunities when they present themselves." " okay." " Alright. I'll let you get back to what you were doing And Andy?" " yeah?" " If you ever want to go on a ' practice date', just so you can see how to handle yourself, I've got a little black dress dying to be worn." ' Okay. I'll think about it." " alright." "Andy?" ' Oh, hey mum. You about ready?" " yeah, the girls just rode up. I've got to go. Um, son?" " yes?" " Why's your face all red?" " Oh, no reason.. But I think Geneva's in love with me." " Well, good for you. You going to take her out? " " I don't know. I have Kirsty to think about. I am technically married to her. ' But, your also a widower to then. And, I think Kirsty would have wanted you to date again if you had been married and then she died." " Well, I'll think about it. ' Okay. Well, I'll be going now." ' mum?" " yes?" " Keep this between you and me, okay?" " My lips are sealed." Meanwhile. " Oh, these are heavy!' Jeanette said, struggling with a large suit cases for herself, Simon and Tony. She had clearly over packed for all three of them. " Maybe I should've left some of those things out." She lost her footing and fell down the stairs. " Jeanette!" " mom!" Father and son rushed to her side. " Ow, that was stupid of me. And, look at the mess I've made. Clothes everywhere. I'm such a klutz." " Et, no more of that." Simon said, putting a finger to her lips. " You know, you could have asked us to carry these." " I didn't want to bother you." " No bother at all." ' Okay, I'm sorry. I should have asked." She looked around. " but, look at this mess. You must be ashamed to have a wife and mother like me. I'm nothing but trouble." ' What did I just say?" Simon asked. " But.." ' Jeanette, I'm not ashamed of you. Your my wife, I love you. Do you think I'd marry somebody I'm ashamed of?" " No." " And I love you too mom. Think I'd call you mom if I was ashamed of you?" " No." " Well, then stop putting yourself down. You made a mistake, everybody does. It only makes you human." Simon said. " Okay.. thank you. I love you both so much." " and we love you." Tony said. " Okay, I guess I should clean this up." Jeanette moved and then recoiled in pain. " Ow!" " What is it?' " my back. It hurts when I move." " you might have pulled something when you fell. Here, I've got an idea." Simon picked Jeanette up and carried her. " Tony, would you clean this up, please?" " No problem dad." Simon carried Jeanette into their bedroom, kicked the door shut behind himself and laid her on the bed. " Take your shirt off and roll over." He told her. " What?" "What are you afraid of? The blinds are shut, the door's closed, and you don't have anything I haven't seen. Now, do you want me to help you with that pain or not?" " O-okay." Jeanette did as told and waited to see what Simon had planned. He began to massage her back. " where does it hurt most?" " Right the center of my back." " Okay." " Ooo, Simon. That feels good. When did you.." " What Did you think I spent all my time on the computer going over the twee-twee research? Even I'm not that dull. I got bored and started looking over random sites. I came to one on therapeutic massage. They'll take better care of you at the spa, but I'm doing my best." Downstairs. " Hey Tony. Where's your mom and dad?" Cash asked. He, the guys and the girls had just arrived to pick them up. " Up stairs into their room." " Okay. Go load the suitcases in the cars, okay?" " okay." Cash went up stairs and opened his brother and sister-in-law's bed room door. " Uh, yeah. I'll just come back. Have fun."


	81. Chapter 81

New munks

Arrival at the spa

" Oh man, this is sweet!" Nikki cried as the girls walked into the spa. " I'll say." Holly said. " 'whistle' How big do you think it is Nell?" Olivia asked. ' hmm, I can't rightfully say from just the first look." " Meaning she has no clue." Holly said. " Shut up Holly!" " Make me, Helen." " Oh, if I hadn't promised mom i wouldn't, I'd put you into that wall." " Like you could." " Hey, littlest dip?" Eliza asked. " What!?" Eliza put her arm on Helen's shoulder. " While she looks like average, on the inside of this head of hers is a psychic brain so powerful, well, let's say that movie special effects guys can only wish they could pull off the kinds of stuff she's probably capable of." " yeah right.' Roxy said. " I'm serious. She could probably explode all our heads, with just her mind, if she got mad enough." " Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence, Liz." Helen said. " What? I trust you to explode their heads, not ours." " Why you!" Roxy said, grabbing Eliza by the collar of her shirt. " Roxanne." Charlene said. Roxy released Eliza. ' Aw, why'd you do that Charlene? I was just about to clobber her." Eliza said. ' What?!" " Roxanne Chipmunk, you promised no fighting." " Let her go mom. I'll bet princess doesn't last a minute." " Don't you start Nicole." ' Now, now everybody. Hmm, what's say we go for a swim for starters?" Miss miller asked. The mother munks would have agreed, but they had other problems. ' Now, now, Liz. We're at a spa. Just ignore Roxy and have fun." Brittany said. . " Your right mom. Who cares if the ugliest chipmunk girls on the planet are here too? We're at a spa! Yeah, I'm gonna relax, and then I'm gonna party my freakin' head off! Who's with me?" She led all the girls off towards the pool. " Man. You think they'll ever be friends?" Brittany asked Charlene. " I have no idea. I'd like them to be." ' Yeah, and It's not like their family makes it easier." " yeah, but if they could get along, the others would too." " You have a point. But, then we have the boys." " Yeah. Well, we can only pray." " I guess so." Later on. " Watch this mom!' Helen said. ' I'm watching." " Gonna show us how long you can hold your breath?" Eleanor asked. " No. Better. I've been thinking." ' That's a first." Holly said. Helen shot her a hateful look. " Anyways, ever since Scotland, I've been thinking. My powers, they're a lot stronger than yours, aren't they mom?" " Well, I don't know. I've never had cause to push mine that far."" What are you talking about?" Charlene asked. " Really long story. We won't bore you with it. Let's just say that both Katrina and her daughter are psychic and have various abilities. Kate's includes telepathy and mind reading. Helen has that and, as we found out in Scotland, telekinesis." Brittany said. ' Your kidding." " Nope." "That's just too weird." " Char, have you noticed the number talking chipmunks in this pool, including yourself? Look at us. And psychic powers strike you as weird?" " Okay, good point. Go on Helen." " Right. Well, I started practicing. Now, watch this." She stared at the water and threw out her hand. " Come on you, work! This worked in the bath tub at home." Slowly a small ball of psychically condensed water formed and hovered over the surface of the water. " That's amazing Helen!" Charlene said. ' Told you she was psychic." Eliza said to Roxy. Helen's eyes then veered off to Holly. The ball shot out and slammed into Holly's face, bursting like a water balloon. " oops." Helen said, pretending it was a mistake. " Why you!?" Holly jumped at her rival, but stopped in mid-air. Helen was holding her up the air with her power. " And now, the mother of all dunks!" ' No!" Everyone shouted.

New munks

Funny story

Meanwhile. The guys had arrived at the lake. It was the same lake that, years ago, Tom and Vinny had spent many an evening. She had said so before she left. " Hey, Raymond!" Cash yelled. " Hey guys." " man, sure is going to be great weather for fishing." Jesse said. " yeah, but it'd be even better if we had a boat." " I thought you had a boat. What happened to that?" Theodore asked. " What happened to that? Well, there's an interesting story." He sat down. " Well ,me and Harold, this buddy of mine, decided to go fishing one time. So, we drove out to the lake here, with my brand new little fishing boat. I brought the pork and beans, the crackers and the sardines and Harold brought all the booze he could tote. Well, while I was loading the boat, and filling the tank, just trying to get the motor to crank, Harold sipped a long neck bear. And while I untied the anchor, he was drinking moonshine straight from the jug and was singing 'melancholy baby' when we left the pier." " Damn." jerry said, shaking his head and laughing. " I know I had problems with booze, but I never acted like that." " Later on, I was concentrating on perfecting my cast, hoping I'd land a trophy bass and I think Harold couldn't even find the lake. And laying there at his feet, was the anchor line, coiled up real neat. Harold saw it and he hollered ' snake!' Then he jumped straight up and began to yell, and I said' Harold, behave yourself. See, that's just a piece of rope.' But, he was scared to death, out of his mind, trying no to get bit by the anchor line, and he grabbed my spear gun and stabbed a whole in the bottom of the boat! Well, he was to drunk to swim, so I was dog paddling and carrying him and I made it to a sand bar just big enough for two. And, way after dark, the helicopters came. Flashing their lights and calling our names and Harold looked up in the sky and said ' Lord? Is that you?' And he knelt in that ' heavenly glow' and said ' Lord, you know I ain't ready to go. So, if you pass me by tonight, I will reform!" And then they threw down a raft and I paddled us home and he never touched a drop from that moment on. You know, the lord works in mysterious ways, as miracles get performed." The munks all laughed. " Well, get situated. We got some serious fishing to do." " Yeah. We're gonna fish this lake dry!" Alvin shouted. Cash stared out into the water. " What is it cash?" Jason asked. " Huh? Oh, nothing." " You sure?" Little Cash asked. " I'm just fine. Go help Tom, okay?" ' Okay." " You sure everything's cool Cash?" Jason asked. " in all honesty? I don't know. I feel something coming, but, not for a while. Thing is, I don't feel it coming for me. I get these feelings and I can usually tell if it's coming after or what. Whatever this is, it doesn't want me, it wants somebody close to me. And, I'm afraid it's Kate, cause she just popped into my mind the minute I started thinking about this." 'why don't you call her?" ' I don't want to interrupt her relaxation at the spa." " Cash, she's your wife. If I felt something was gunning for Heather, I'd call her." ' Good point." Cash pulled his phone out. " Hello?" ' Kate." " hey honey. Everything alright so far?" ' Yeah. You?" " As well as can be expected. Our daughter is just driving Holly crazy with her powers, but nobody's tried to kill anybody yet." " That's good." ' You sound troubled, dear. What's the matter?" " You know how I get those feelings when something's coming for us?" " Your ears ringing?" " Big time. And, I don't know why, but I get this feeling that it's after you, not me." " Ok, I'll keep my eyes peeled. Thanks for the heads up honey."

New munks

Box

" I'm gonna catch a way bigger fish than you!" Tom teased Rex the next morning. " You think so?" " I don't think, I know." ' We'll see." They rented a large enough boat and went out onto the lake. Simon was tossing a spear into the water. " what are you doing Simon?" Alvin asked. " What's it look like? I'm fishing." "With a big metal stick?" " it's a spear Alvin." " I know that, but why? There's a perfectly good fishing pole right here." " I'm trying to tap into whatever part of my mind is still twee-twee. Perhaps, If I do things the way they would have, it'll set me in the right mind set to be able to figure more of the tablets." ' Simon, gentlemen. The munk with no life." Alvin said. " What?" " Makes me wonder how you ever got a wife and kid." " Now come on Alvin." " I mean, we're supposed to be having fun and what are you doing instead? Working! Fishing is supposed to be for fun, not a chance to do in depth research." " But, I'm just doing this for research. I'm also doing this for safety." " Safety? Are you serious? You've got to be kidding me." " I'm absolutely serious. Think about it. What if I did fish with a regular rod and reel? What if I caught a really big fish and it drug me under? What if I lost my glasses when that happened? I don't have my swimming goggles, so I'd be blind as a bat under water. And, if I couldn't see which way the surface is, as it would be one big blur to me, I wouldn't come up for air in time and then I'd drown. I'm not taking the chance. But, with this, it pierces the fish, kills it instantly. No fuss and no drowned munk." ' Oh Simon." The other three brothers said, shaking their heads. " Has he always been such a pessimist?" Jerry asked. 'For as long as I've known him, yeah, he has." cash said. " You'll see. You'll be thanking me for this later." ' I'm sure we will." Alvin said. " whoa!" Tony said. ' What?" Theodore asked. " I think I got something1 Something big!" " Reel her in, Tony!" As Tony began to reel in the large fish, it jumped out of the water. " Holy! That's mother's huge! Pull it in Tony!" Jesse said. Tony pulled and reeled and did all he could. " easy Tony Give it a little slack. Keep the line taught like that and it'll snap. Think of it as guerilla warfare tactics. Reel it in a bit, give it slack, reel it in some more and give it a little more slack. It may sound monotonous, but you'll win in the end." Tony did as told and eventually had battled the large fish over to the side of the boat. " We got it." Alvin said, as he and Larry stuck their hands overboard and dragged the fish on board. " Phew! This thing's a monster!" Alvin said. " That's the biggest bass I've ever seen!' Theodore said. " Good job Tony. I think you just caught us our lunch. We just got to prepare it and we'll be eating fish steaks in no time." " Great job Tony." Ben said. Tony felt pretty good. " Uh, guys?" Tom asked. " I think I got dinner over here." Tom reeled in the large object. ' ah man, it's just a box." " Hmm, says something on the side." Vick said. " Hey, yeah. Let's take a look." Alvin said. The box said 'To Vinny and my boys' on the side of it. " Vinny and my boys? This, this is dad's box!" Theodore said. " Well , it's addressed to us. Let's open it." Alvin said. " Hold it, Al. It says to VINNY and my boys. It's for mom too. It would be right to open it with out her." Simon said. " your right. We can wait until Monday. But, I really wish I knew what was inside." " We'll find out soon enough." " Good work Tom." Cash said. " Yeah, but i wanted a big fish." " We've got plenty of daylight, don't give up." " Right!"


	82. Chapter 82

_New munks_

_Katrina's enemy_

" _Something the matter Kate?" " huh? Oh, nothing Britt." " Kate, we know you better than that. Come on, tell us." Eleanor said. " It's nothing." " Katrina Seville, you'd better tell us, or else." Brittany said. Everyone was enjoying the large hot tub at the spa. " I said it's nothing. Drop it, okay?" " Not a chance. I'm going to keep hounding you, just like Alvin hounds cash, until you tell us." " What Brittany means to say, is that we're your sisters, Kate. You can tell us anything." Jeanette said. " That's right. We're your family. You can tell us anything." Miss Miller said. Helen stared at her mother. The kids were in a smaller hot tub along side the larger one the adult women were in. She began to read her mother's mind. " Mom, I know. I'll tell them." "How long have you.." Been reading your mind? Since Aunt Brittany asked what was wrong. It's okay, I'll tell them for you.' " No, I can do it. I don't really want to, but I guess I have no choice." " That's right. So tell us, Aunt Katrina." Eliza said. " Okay. Now, most of the time, we have to worry about enemies of cash's from the past, right?" " Yeah." " well, this is time, it's mine." " Really?" ' Yeah. See, Cash called me yesterday and said he had one of those feelings and it was telling him that something was after me. And, while it's not a psychic power or anything like mine, those feelings are pretty precise. I've been thinking since then. Thinking about who or what would single me out. The group wouldn't come after jut me." " We can't be too sure of that Kate. Remember what you told me about Cash, Ken and Ian out the forest. That time they singled Cash out, right?" Heather asked. " Yes but, I don't think that's the case. Considering the tactics they've used recently, if they were coming after me, they'd be after you too." ' Now you sound like Cash." Brittany said. ' And you sound like Alvin. Can I go on?" " Okay, okay. No need to bite my head off." " Sorry. I just really don't like thinking about this. " It's okay. Go on." "Well, like I said, I don't think it's the group this time. No, this is possibly worse." " what do you mean?' " Well, I had a relatively quiet, but also very weird, life with Macy. I mean, you don't get much weirder than being trained to use psychic powers all your life. And, Macy was a very nice lady. It was this fact, that she was so likable, that made any enemies she had so bad. She had only one I knew of. A rival you could say. Her name was Greta Stone. Macy never did talk about her much, until that day came.' " What day?" Jeanette asked. " the day Greta's daughter came for revenge. See, Macy and Greta had been in a terrible psychic battle, years before I came along. From what I understand, it left Macy weakened and put Greta in a psyche ward, for life. Greta's daughter, Gina, came looking for revenge. When it looked like macy was going to lose, I just lost it. I only had my telepathy and mind reading, just like I do now, but I was determined. But, it wasn't enough. Gina beat me pretty bad. But, just as it seemed I would lose, Macy summoned up a last bit of strength and used her limited telekinesis to fling Gina into the river nearby and she was washed away. I never did see her after that." ' And you think Gina could be what's coming after you?' 'I hope not. Gina isn't just a pyrokinetic, she's a pyromaniac, and sociopath to boot. She enjoys burning everything, and everyone, she can. I shudder to think the kind of damage she'd do if it was her coming after me. The kind of fires she'd set, just for the heck of it. If she felt like it, she'd set the whole town on fire, and laugh while it burned down." " Man, and I thought Ken was bad."_

_New munks_

_Gina_

" _Man, I really wish we could take a peak at that box." Alvin said. 'We're almost home, al. We'll go over to X's and then we'll look at it with mom." Simon said. " yeah, you can wait, just like the rest of us." Cash said. " 'tsk' fine." " hmm." " what is it Theo?" " I was just thinking. If dad wanted us to find this, why'd he toss it in the lake?" " Maybe it's got something important in it and he wanted us to have it. Us, and only us. Tossing it in the lake was probably the best place he knew to hide it." Simon said. " Or maybe he took it from somebody and that was the only place he could hide it so that person wouldn't take it back." Alvin said. ' Dad wouldn't do that." Simon said. " How do you know Simon? We don't know a whole lot about our dad, other than what Mom's told us. We don't know anything of what he was doing before he met mom. Who's to say he didn't do some things before he met her?" Alvin asked. " Because, dad was a good man." " What?" ' I think Simon's saying that dad was one of the good guys and the good guys don't steal." Theodore said. ' What about Robin Hood? What if dad was like a chipmunk version of Robin hood?" " Alvin, mom says we take after dad, a lot. We do pretty much everything the same way he would. So, tell me, have you ever had the desire to steal something, no matter what the reason may be?" Cash asked. " No, I haven't." " Well, there you go. I don't know what's in that box, but I can just feel that dad didn't steal it." Later on. ' Okay, I'm gonna take tom and meet the guys at X's to look over that box we found. What are you going to do?" Cash asked. Katrina. " I think I'll take Nell to the book store and then the park." " Okay. I'll see you later. Be careful." The lovers then kissed good bye and the kids recoiled in a feign of disgust. One hour later, they had run into Charlene, Jake and Holly at the book store. They decided to go to the park together. Helen tried to ignore Holly and read her new book with Jake." So, you like what you got at the book store?" Katrina asked. " yeah. This is really interesting. I 'm glad you suggested to get this Ripley's believe it or not book." " What are you looking at now?" Charlene asked. " All the crazy laws they have. Listen to this. An old law in Kentucky states that it is illegal to fire an unloaded gun. Two questions. How is that possible and why would such a law exist?" " I have no idea." " Me neither. I don't understand people sometimes." " You and me both." Jake said. " Hey, Katrina!" " what?" Snap. " Helen, move!" " Wha.." Katrina snatched Helen up and jumped out of the way. " Who's that? And, where'd that fire come from?" Holly asked." Gina." Katrina said. " So glad you remember me. I wasn't quite sure it was you, but, standing this close, there's no doubt. I'd recognize those white clothes and black hair anywhere." " popping up out of no where, your usual style. So, what do you want, Gina?" " Well, this!' Snap. A torrent of fire erupted from Gina's fingertips and struck the ground close to Katrina. " round two then?" " Oh yeah." " Charlene, take the kids and get out of here." " But.." ' Forget about me! Go!" " Right." From a safe distance, they watched the battle. However, Katrina still didn't have the power to best Gina. " Your pathetic Katie. All these years, and you still haven't evolved your powers. Still using your same old tricks. Using my fire on you is a waste. O well." Gina pointed her fingers, poised to snap and release the fire, right a Katrina. " Now, say bye bye." Gina suddenly stopped. " what? Augh, what is this? Ow! My head!" Gina said. Katrina and Gina looked to the source. " Get away from my mom!"_

_New munks_

_Helen's full power_

" _Who the hell are you!?" Gina demanded. " I'm Helen Lynn Seville. I'm Katrina Seville's daughter." " I just wanted your first name, what's with the full introduction?" "My dad, Cash Seville, a man of honor, always told me to fully introduce myself to people I'm going to beat!" " Your going to beat me? Ppfft, yeah, sure. That's a nice trick you got kid. Using your own psychic force to put pressure on somebody's mind, until they collapse from the pain. A nice trick, but not good enough!" Gina forced Helen's power away. " Now, get lost!" Helen hurled a rock at Gina. " I'm not going anywhere!" She marched right up to Gina. " Helen.." " I've got this mom. You, your going down." " I'm quaking in my boots kid." Ten minutes later, Helen was hiding behind a tree. She was catching her breath, gathering her thoughts. " If I can just get mom out of here..." She tried darting around the side of the trees. However, Gina cleaved them with a blade of fire. Helen continued to run, dodging Gina's shots." run little munk, run!" Gina was enjoying this. This was target practice to her. Eventually, however, she had Helen cornered. " ooh, sorry little one. Game over." She snapped her fingers and engulfed Helen in fire. " AUGH!" Helen cried in pain. " Helen!" Helen collapsed. " Huh, still breathing eh? You got spunk, but, you can't win. Better to just throw in the towel little girl. Now, if you'll excuse me." " I really can't win? Am I still so weak?' Helen pondered. " Get up!" Jake yelled. " Huh? Jake?" ' Get up, Helen! You can do this! I believe in you! Remember what you told me when I wasn't sure I could make those cookies the way you like? " You've just got to believe in yourself.' Come on, Helen, You can do it!" " He's right. I've got to believe in myself. And that means that I can't be afraid to cut loose. If I want to win, if I want to protect those I love, I have to go all out, just like dad would!" Helen struggled to her feet. " Hey! Get back here! We're not done yet!" " Oh, your up? Man, your tough for a, what? Seven year old?" " Shut up and get over here! I'm gonna beat the snot out of you!" " Man, you'd think you'd learn. You can't win kid. I beat your mom, I've beat you. There's nothing you can do." " There's plenty! I can do everything I can. I can go all out!" ' Go all out?" ' I've made a promise to myself. I'm going to do everything in my power to protect those close to me. Mom, dad, Tom, my cousins, my friends, Jake, and even Holly. I know how bad you are. You'd kill all of them. Well, I won't let you! I'll die before I let you!" " Then so be it!" Gina shot out a large wall of fire. Helen made no attempt to move. " Helen!" Everyone yelled. Even Holly yelled, because she was moved by Helen saying she'd even protect her. They waited to see how, if at all, Helen had withstood the fire. They quickly saw how. " What the hell?" Helen had used her telekinesis to launch a large rock nearby in the way, turning it into a shield."" What? Telekinesis?" ' You done? Good, now it's my turn!" Helen launched the rock at Gina. Gina used a huge amount of fire to deflect the boulder. But, the rock was a distraction. Helen began firing smaller rocks at Gina like a machine gun. Gina wasn't fast enough to doge it. The rocks pelted her every where. " Why you!" Gina shot out fire to cancel the attack and then began snapping as fast as she could. Helen used her telekinesis to pick up a charred log, created by Gina firing her attack off at her earlier, and used it as a shield. Helen ran behind the log and got right up to Gina. " Take this!" Helen shouted and began pounding the well charred and thus hardened, log into Gina in every angle one could imagine. After striking her with the log at least ten times, Helen willed the log as high into the air as she could. " This is it!" Helen then slammed the log down on Gina's head so hard that it cracked in half. Gina then collapsed. " That power.. not possible.. What are you?" Gina asked before passing out. " I'm a chipmunk. The.. Limits.. Of people.. Don't apply...to me.' Helen said, then fell over and passed out from exhaustion. " Helen!" The gang rushed to her side. " Helen! Helen, wake up!' Jake yelled. " Helen, You've got to wake up." Katrina said. ' Mom?" Helen said tiredly. "I'm right here baby." " Did I do good?" " Good? You were incredible. Where'd all that come from?" " My love, for all of you." " Helen?" " Yeah, Holly?' ' Um, maybe I've been wrong about you. You may be the coolest girl I've ever met. And, all those nasty things I said to you.. Can you forgive me?" " Forgive what?" " Everything I.." " Holly, Helen's saying that that's the past. What's done is done. Now, it's up to you to decided what to do next." Charlene said. " I see. Helen?" " Hmm?" " Um, wanna.. Be friends?" " Love to." Helen stretched out a weak hand to Holly. Holly grabbed and shook it. Katrina and Charlene looked to each other, thinking the same thing. " yes!' Meanwhile. " Go ahead and open it mom." Alvin said. "Okay." She opened the box to reveal a bunch of pictures. " What? It's just a bunch of old pictures. Man, lame." Alvin said. " These are all pictures we took when he was still alive. As soon as we found this old Polaroid camera and some film, we were snapping pictures all the time. I wondered what happened to these." Vinny said. " I'm glad you like them." Alvin said. ' I was expecting something cooler." " Sounds like a little kid." Simon said. " Simon." Cash said. " What?" " Never mind." Cash said, shaking his head. Theodore noticed something in the bottom of the box. " what's that?" " They look like necklaces." " Those are.. Those are the steel necklaces he had made to give to you when you were old enough to wear them. He said the one he wore gave him good luck, so he hoped that these would bring you luck." " Well, they're too little for us.. Here." Alvin said, handing the necklaces to Tony, Ben and Tom. " Mom, you wear mine." Alvin said. " I'll hold onto it. If you have a son in the future, we'll give it to him." "Now mom, Britt and I have more important things to worry about than having more kids." " I said if, Alvin. If. And, I said I'll hold onto it, just in case. Okay?" ' well.. Yeah, okay." Ring. " Hello?" Cash answered his phone. " Oh, hey babe, what's up?" " Cash listen..." Katrina told him what happened. " She did what!?" " You heard me honey. She went all out. We took her to Doctor Samson to be on the safe side." 'Okay. You still at the hospital?" ' Yeah." " Okay, we'll be right over. Guys.." Cash told them. " Whoa, cool! Go Nell." Tom said. " Wait a minute! That means that I've got to keep up! I got to start kicking' MORE butt. Where's ken?" " Tom." Cash said. " Right, let's go." " mom? You coming?" Theodore asked. " Just a minute. I'll put this up first, and then I'll be right out." ' Okay." Vinny stuck her hand down into the very bottom of the box. She pulled out a ring. " I thought you were lying hen you told me you lost it. You put in here, just incase, didn't you tom?" It was one of the rings she and Tom used as their 'wedding rings'. " Okay, I'd best go put this up." she quickly ran up stairs and put the ring in her jewelry box, along side her own." Nell? You okay?" Cash asked. " Hi Daddy." " Hey baby." " You should have seen it! She kicked mucho butt!" Holly said. " why's she going on like that?" Alvin asked Charlene. " Holly and Helen, they're friends now." " Really?" " yeah." ' huh. And it only took saving her life. Good lord, what'll it take for Roxy and Eliza to become friends?" " I shudder to think. I really do."_


	83. Chapter 83

_New munks_

_Perfect song_

_Time passed. Helen was completely recovered. Today was Saturday, which meant the new munks had to get to the store opening. But, as this as their first major gig, they had their doubts. ' What if we mess up?" Eliza asked. " you won't." Brittany said." but, what if we do?" " It won't be the end of the world." Alvin said. " But if we don't make a good first impression, we'll never be rock stars like you." Tom said. " you'll do fine." Cash said. ' But.." Olivia started. " listen, guys, you'll do just fine. Just pick something and sing your hearts out. That's what we do. Now, we got to go get our seats. And remember, we believe in you." Eleanor said, before the family walked away. " Great, now we'll disappoint them. And they had to call everybody we know too. Just freaking great." Tony said. ' Tony, did you just say freaking?" Eliza said. " Blame it on the stress." " There they are." They heard. Rex came up, leading his family. " Hey, do us a favor and don't blow it too bad. If you screw up royally, and people found out that we lost to you, god we'd never get any gigs.' Roxy said. " Like you could." Eliza said. The two stared hatefully at each other. " Good luck guys." Zack, Jake and Holly said. " Guys!" rex and Roxy yelled at them. They then shook their heads and turned to walk away. " Just try not to screw up." Roxy said. " Ow!" Rex said, holding his side. ' You okay?' Tom asked. " Like you care?" Then he walked away. " Man, bite a guy's head off for checking on you." Tom said. " Ignore him, we've got our own problems." Eliza said. " So, Jake, Holly and Zack like us and are rooting for us?" Tony asked. ' Seems that way. And you know Roxy, Rex and Nikki are secretly rooting for tom, Liz and you, Tony." Helen said. " And all of our is here, cheering for us. Man, what do we sing?" Olivia asked. Tom thought it over for a moment. Then, he snapped his fingers. " I've got it!" " What?" Eliza asked. " Hold on, I need to get Cash." When he returned, he told them about what son he had in mind. " That's brilliant, Tom." Tony said. " yeah, that's absolutely perfect." Eliza said. " I thought so. Okay, let's go." " and now, to help us, the new munks, the sons and daughters of the chipmunks, are here to sing for us!' Mr. Derringer said. The group walked out onto the stage. " cash, call it up." Tom said. The beat started. " __Uh-huh. This is for the families. Yeah, c'mon." " I want to thank you for giving me, everything that I ever dreamed. I want to tell you what you mean To me. How you make me feel like a family. So now I sing a song to you to let you know, "I'm so thankful". " "You're in my heart. You gave me all the love I need. Oh, you're my everything,(everything).You're in my soul, you gave me the strength to live my dreams. Oh, you're my everything, you make me sing." " Well I was lost once, but now I'm found. You took my hand and never let me down. I want to tell you what you mean to me. How you make me feel like a family. So, now I sing a song to you to let you know, "I'm so thankful"(oh, yeah)." 'You're in my heart. You gave me all the love I need. Oh, you're my everything ,(everything).You're in my soul, you gave me the strength to live my dreams. Oh, you're my everything, you make me sing." Tony started to lead. "Mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. All together, one another, Loving unconditionally that is, What is, family. Never falter, never fail. Rain or shine or sleet or hail. You'll be by me and I, you. Cause that's what family must do." The new munks sang._

_New Munks_

_The Franklin's awaken_

_Meanwhile. " Are they ready brother?" The female lead asked. She and her brother were in the basement area, where they kept Clyde and the Franklin siblings hidden from the group. " Ah, perfect timing. Yes, the final adjustments have just been made. They are ready to be removed from their life support chambers." " Fantastic. I'll go fetch something for them to wear." " Be quick about it." " I always am." A Minute later, she returned. " Alright, release chambers." A loud whoosh could be heard. The Franklin's, Sean and Naomi, fell to the floor. They slowly came to their senses and rose up. The first thing they saw was each other. " Naomi?" Sean asked. ' Sean? Are we, alive?" " I think so." But, our base.." " Blew up?" The female lead asked. " Who are you?" Sean asked. " In due time, my friend. But first, put these on. Make yourselves decent." The Franklin's dressed as quickly as they could. " Ah, good. Now then, you want to know what's going on?" The female lead asked. " Yes!" Sean shouted. " Well, I guess the first thing I should say is 'welcome to the year 2023." " Twenty-twenty-three? But it was just 2008.. How long have we been out?" Sean asked. " Your math not that good? Subtract 2008 from 2023." " Fifteen." ' That's right. You've been 'asleep', you could say, for fifteen years." " Fifteen years!" Naomi said. " Yes. We would have woken you sooner, but you were in condition for that until just now." " Condition?" Naomi asked. " You recall your final battle with the chipmunks?" " We'll never forget." Sean said. " Well, that explosion destroyed your base. Your last ditch effort to kill the chipmunks, failed. For fifteen years, they've lived with out you darkening their doorways. They've grown up. They've married and had children." " They've lead the good life, while we festered down here!?" Sean said. " Oh no. Not festered. You were still alive during the whole time. But, we kept you in these life support chambers, which also kept you unconscious, while we repaired you." " Repaired?' ' Yes. You see, when we found you fifteen years ago, you were both just barely alive." " 'gasp' Sean, I just remembered! What happened to Leon and Brent?" " Yeah, what happened to them!?" " Well, that's complicated." The male lead said. " Complicated?" " You see, you survived, even if it was just barely. They, however, both died in the explosion. But, they aren't completely dead." " what?" " Just because they died, didn't mean that their bodies couldn't be put to good use. Pieces of them are still alive, inside the two of you." " You see, your bodies were almost completely destroyed. But, we pulled some strings, so that we could get the funds to fix you." " And where did this money come from?" " Like I said, we pulled some strings, and made ourselves out to be the soul benefactors of your inheritance from your father's poaching." " You did what!?" " well, for all intents and purposes, your dead. So, we took advantage. Don't worry, we put it to good use. We took half of it to fix you and the other to put together our little organization here." " Organization?" " Yes. Upstairs are four people who also despise the munks. We've been using them, as a part of our plan." " your plan?" " yes. See, we, personally, have nothing against the chipmunks." " Then why put together a group that hates them and, I assume, attacks them frequently?" " For the sake of our plan." " Explain your plan." "We can't divulge everything, but here is a basic run down. Twenty years ago, this accursed town sent us away for our so called ' crimes'. We called them art. We were pioneers. Sure, they called us 'murderers' and 'thieves', but we wore these monikers like badges of honor. However, we made a slight miscalculation one time. And, then the police captured us. They sent us away. They planned two, back to back, life sentences for both of us. However, we escaped. After that, we began to formulate our plans. We watched as you attacked and battled the munks. No offense to you, but we knew that you would not be able to stop ' heroes' of the chipmunks' caliber. But, we knew that, for our plans to come to fruition, they would have to be disposed of one day. So, we began the long and complicated tasks that lead us to this point. You see, We wanted all of Hollywood to fall to us, and to do that, they would have to see our great power. Which meant toppling the city from all points." ' Basically, your plan is to take over Hollywood?" " Yes." " And what then?" " What then? We'll turn Hollywood into thunder dome. Have those peons who sent us away battle to the death, for our amusement. And, once we tire of that, we have a plan to finish it all off in the grandest way we could think of. After that? Well, I guess we could die happy." " I think we should see how much we can truly accomplish." The female lead said. " If our plan works, and we take over Hollywood, then who's to say what else we could do?" The female lead said. " why not say ' Hollywood today, tomorrow the entire state of California, and by the end of the week the entire nation!?" " Urban terrorism on a grand scale." Naomi said. "Precisely. But, we must start small, as all geniuses must. We'll start with Hollywood. And then, who knows? Maybe we'll go my brother's way and just walk away, forever content with our single handed defeat of the city who imprisoned us." " They're crazy." Naomi whispered to Sean. " You can say that again." " what was that?" " I was saying that I'd like you to explain exactly what you did to us!?" " Well, if you insist. Your bodies were severely damaged, but not beyond help. It was a slow, agonizing process. But, long story short, we bonded many muscle fibers from your siblings, into you.' the female lead said. ' In you, Sean, we bonded Brent's arm muscle fibers, giving you the strength of two men. But, we'd just begun. We got a hold of a capable scientist, named Professor Clyde Crashcup. We had him design, build, and implant a system of devices into your body. These devices, when turned on, will send out electrical pulses that will stimulate your muscles and adrenal glands until you have the strength of TEN men. If we have it calculated right, in their transformed state, the munks are 'miraculously' as strong as five men. You'd best them easily. But, you would have to time it. Medical science, as well as Professor Crashcup, have only come so far. To turn the system on, you must turn the dial on your left wrist, which we've disguised as an ordinary watch. It's actually fused into your skin, but it doesn't look that way. However, we were still limited in the amount of time we could give you to use the system's power." " How long?" " From the time you activate it, you have a maximum of twenty minutes. After that, so that both you and the system are not overloaded, the system will automatically shut itself off. So, use your time wisely." "Twenty minutes.. more than enough time." " That's what we wanted to hear." ' And me?" Naomi asked. " In you, we implanted leg muscle fibers from your fastest family member, Leon. That makes you as fast as a well trained Olympic runner." " And do I have those devices inside me as well?" 'you catch on quick. Good. Yes, you do. It functions the same way as your brother's. Once turned on, you have twenty as well. But, during that twenty minutes, you'll be as fast a sports car. Not even the best runners in the world can go that fast. But, this of course, would put a tremendous strain on you, so the system will shut down after twenty minutes.' " So, now that's out o the way, do you have any other questions?" The male lead asked. " Yeah. I got a question. We're supposed to be dead right?" " For all intents, yes. There are very few who know that your still alive.' " Right. Well, the dead don't need money. So, all I want to know, is when do we crush the chipmunks, once for all?" " In due time my friend." " what? We have all this power, and you want to wait!?" " Yes, because, right now, we have a job for you." " what!? You expect us to do something for you?" Naomi asked. " Yes." " Oh, that's it. I'm taking over this thing." Sean said. " Are you sure you want to try that?" The male lead asked. " Yes!" " Have it your way." The male lead pressed a button on a strange device his own wrist. Sean immediately collapsed to the ground. " what did you do to him!?" Naomi yelled. " Nothing much, so long as he knows his place now. You see, we knew that we were giving you tremendous power. So, we took out a little " insurance policy'. While those systems inside you give you power, they are also double edged swords. You see these little devices on our wrists?" " Yes, I see them." "Well, they give us a great deal of power. The power to control you." " what!?" Sean said. " These little watches of ours have three buttons. This first button controls the ' suppression' function for your system, Sean. The second controls Naomi's. Should you act out, we need only to press a button to bring you back under control. And, the last button, is our weapon of last resort. It has a skull and cross bones for a reason. If you dare attack us again, we'll press this button and it'll set off all of the suppression function's power and kill you instantly. Do you understand?' ' yeah. I get it. Help you, or else." " Oh, you make it sound like we're bad people. We're not completely heartless. We kept you both alive, when we could have let one of you die. Not to mention, we did save your lives. You owe us." The female lead said. " All we ask is for your cooperation." The male lead said. " You mean our servitude!" Naomi said. " Call it what you wish. But, you will do as we say." " I'd rather die." ' Naomi, let's prolong this life as long as we can." ' But, Sean, we're basically slaves." " I know. But, don't you worry. I'll come up with a way to get out this mess. And when I do.." He looked to the leaders. ' Your both dead, got it?" " Good luck with that. Now, are you going to do what we say?" The female lead asked. " For the time being, yes. Now, what do you want us to do?" " for now, nothing. Take some time to rest and get used to your new surroundings. When we're ready, we'll call on you." " And when that happens?" " You'll break into some banks for us. Running this show takes more money than we've got. Your inheritance is almost spent. So, we need to restock our supply of money. Think of this as a field test for you. Until we call you though, just relax and get used to everything. Your going to be here a long time. Now then we have some other things to attend to. We'll explain what else we have in mind for you later. Your room is across the hall. Now, if you'll excuse us." " Sean, i think I'd rather be dead. What did we do to deserve this?" " This s all the chipmunks fault! Everything is their fault!" ' your right. It is their fault." " We'll kill those two bastards when we get the chance, but we'll focus on the chipmunks for now." " Right."_


	84. Chapter 84

New munks

Ken's life

Today, Ken was sitting in his little hide out, plotting a new plan to challenge Cash. " Maybe if I.. No, that won't work." He said to himself. ' Damn it! What's wrong with me? Why is it every plan I can think of, I can also think of a way Cash could foil it? He is a capable swordsman, there's no denying that. He may be better at the style than me, better than Grandfather.. No! He's just an animal. That's not possible... But, if it's not possible, why do I have my doubts?" Ken shook his head. "Man, I'm even thinking that the outsider is a better man than me." He shook his head again, trying to clear his mind of those doubts. " Am I seriously developing an inferiority complex, over Cash compared to me? What does he have that I don't!? There are the obvious things, like a family, but, that aside, he's no better than me.. Right? 'sigh' I need to get out more. Wait! That's it! I'll go for a walk. Some fresh air will clear my head. Always worked for Grandpa Agito." So, Ken threw on his jacket and headed out. After walking around for an hour, he still didn't feel any better. He began to think of how his life had turned out. " Maybe Mother was right, maybe I should have let Cash go. I mean, he's let me go, and look at the life he's got now. And what do I have? I live in a shack outside the city. I have no job. All the money I have comes from what my mother can send me every month and that's barely enough to survive. On top of that, Cash has a wife and two children. Me? I don't even have a girlfriend. And he gets to fly around the world, while an entire week or so of my life goes out the window and I don't have the slightest clue what happened to me during that time. I still haven't figured out what that weird man with the long teeth did to me, But I'm sure that my missing week is his fault. But Cash, he knows everything, about every minute of his life. He knows where his next meal is coming from. He never has to think about how to steal clothes and not get caught. He doesn't have a rap sheet following him. Am I, am I jealous of him? Maybe what Kimiko said when we were younger was right. Maybe everything I have against him boils down to just envy. Is that really all it is? I thought I was sure. I thought I hated him because he was an outsider who dared to learn our family style. But, now, I just don't know anymore." He sat down on a bench in the park. Al little girl sat down next to him. However, he didn't notice her until she spoke to him. " Penny for your thoughts, mister?" " what?" " Some old saying my mom said I should start using, instead of just asking what's wrong. She wants me to sound like a lady, and part of that is saying things that make me sound smart, like that penny line. Honestly, I think it's stupid. Oh, sorry, didn't mean to go off like that." " I don't mind." " You weren't even listening, were you?" "Well, kind of yes and no." ' Hmph. But, I still wanna know what's wrong. Is something bothering you mister?" " you wouldn't understand." " Try me." " your just a little girl." " I may not like saying those corny lines, but that doesn't mean I'm not smart. See, I wanna be a journalist when I grow up. Writing those advice columns. So, tell me what's wrong. It'll be good for you and be good practice for me." " I wouldn't know where to start." " you could just ramble." " And you'll listen?" " Yup! Oh, but first, my name's Lucy. Lucy Turner. What's yours?" " It's Ken. Ken Ikebana." " Ikebana?" " It's Japanese." ' I see. Okay, start whenever your ready Ken." Ken took a deep breath and told Lucy of his problems, in the most simplistic terms he could. Lucy took it all in and thought for a moment. ' Okay. Here's what I say."

New munks

Have to have a dream

" If you fight Cash every time you see him, and you can't win no matter what, but you still want to prove that your better than him, maybe you should try something else. Something other than seeing who can hit who harder. Like, think about what he's good at. What kind of things can he do?" " Play guitar, sing, dance." " He's a performer then?" " I didn't mention that Cash, is Cash Seville, did I?" "Of the chipmunks!?" " Yeah." " Cool. You grew up with him?" " My grandfather found after a storm one day. Took him in and nursed him back to health." " Wait. I'm a fan of the chipmunks. I go on websites with their bios on them. It just hit me. You grew up with Cash, and your last name is Ikebana, so, your grandfather must've been Agito Ikebana, right? Cash's first human father?" " I guess so." " That's cool." " But, that's where my problem started." " Oh right, sorry. I get way off topic when stuff I like comes up. Right, let's get back to what we were talking about. Okay, so you think you hated Cash because he was an outsider coming into the family and then learned things you didn't want him to from your grandfather, right?" " Yeah." " But, now your older and wiser, you think it may just be petty jealousy?" " I don't know." " I see. Okay, well, taking into account what Cash we're talking about, can perform? Sing, dance, that kind of thing?" " No. You could say I'm completely tone deaf. You could put the most popular song ever right up to my ear, and wouldn't be able the difference from something that's on the bottom of the charts. And dancing? I'm just too big and clumsy." " Got two left feet huh?" " Yeah." " Okay. So you can't sing, and playing an instrument is out cause you wouldn't know if you were doing good or not, and you've got two left feet. On top of that, he's as good a fighter as you, if not better. Or, at least that's what your worried about." Ken's head dropped a little. " Hey! Don't go getting depressed on me. We'll figure out what you can do." ' But you make it sound hopeless." " What with the way I'm talking?' ' Yeah." " Well, I am still learning. And, I only talk it out so that I can put it all in order for myself. Sorry, I'll try to think inside, instead of out loud. Okay, back to business. Is there anything else he does that you might be able to do?" " He comes to people's rescue. You could say he's a bleeding heart. He can't resist helping those in need." ' well there you go! Your a big, strong guy. You could do that!" " I don't know if I've got it in me. To everyone I know, I've been labeled a villain. I don't think I could be a hero, with that looming over my head." " You don't know until you try." Ken shook his head. Ring. Lucy answered her phone. " Excuse me. Hello? Oh, hi mommy. What? Well, okay. Yeah, I'm in the park. Okay, I'll meet you there. Okay, love you too, bye." " You got to go?" " Yeah. Mom wants me to meet her at this store." " Shopping for school clothes?" " no, she's thinking about buying it and wants my opinion." " She's buying an entire store?" " I didn't mention that I'm rich did I?" " No, you didn't. Your rich, and you still want to be a measly journalist? Why?" " So I have a dream." " A dream?" ' yeah. I could just sit back all my life and let my family's money do the talking, but that's not me. I believe that it should be you who decides who you are, not where you come from. So, I wanna crave out my place in the world by myself, with my own two hands. And, to do that, I have to have a dream. Something to work towards. Journalism interests me and I'm really good at giving advice. So, I put two and two together. And there's my dream. Well, I gotta go. But, remember what I said."

New munks

A brand new Ken

Ken sat and watched Lucy walk away. He pondered about what the young girl had said. " I can't deny that she's right. My whole life, it's turned out this way because I was blind. Blinded by my, and I can't believe I'm saying this, but, my jealousy of Cash. Now that I think about it, Cash has brought nothing but honor to the Ikebana name." Ken pulled out his wallet and pulled out a picture of Agito, which he was never quite sure why he carried. ' You were right. Cash is more than worthy to be called an Ikebana. Considering all he's done, I'm proud to call him that. Did I just say that? Am I actually proud to call him... Family? Yeah.. I am.. I really am." Ken laughed to himself. He couldn't believe he was admitting these things, but it felt good to do so. " Well, I can't just let Cash hog all the glory. Yeah, I get what Lucy was trying to tell me now. She was telling me, that if I want to bring the family honor, instead shame like I have been, then I've got to stand up and beat Cash at his own game. She was right. I'm a big guy. I may not be fast, like Cash is, but I'm strong. Maybe I'll give this hero thing a whirl. I'm willing to give anything a shot at this point. Hmm, I don't know why, but I feel like I should find Lucy. Yeah, I've got to find her. She went off that way. I know of a few big stores in that direction. Maybe if I hurry, I can catch up to her at one of those stores. I've got to thank her for helping me, because, thanks to her, I've found my dream. I've got to let her know.' And then he headed off to find her. Meanwhile. " Are you sure that you need to buy this place mom?" Lucy asked her mother. " Well, think about it Lucy. We could call this charity. This stores sales have gone down the tubes and I heard the owners have fallen in with a bad crowd. If I bought this place and slap the Turner enterprises seal of approval on it, it would restore it's reputation, as well as turn us a healthy profit." " Well, when you put it that way.. Okay, go ahead and buy it." Suddenly, four men burst into the place. " Everybody freeze!' One man yelled. " Good day ladies and gents. We have some interesting entertainment lined up for you today. You get to watch as we blow the head off the owner over there. See, somebody doesn't know what ' don't you dare blab to the cops' means. Unfortunately, you only get to see it once. You know how it is, no witnesses." The crazed gun man turned his attention to Lucy and her mother. " Well, if isn't the second wealthiest family in the city. I'll bet Mr. Turner would pay top dollar for the two of you to come back safely. Hey, you, put them in the van." ' Right!" the man strong armed them outside. Ken arrived at just that moment. " Lucy! Huh? What's going on?" "Ken, they're trying to kidnap us!" "Not on my watch. Let them go!" " And what are you gonna do?" " You don't wanna know.' ' oh, tough guy huh? Well, say hello to my little friend here.' The man pulled out a gun and shot at Ken. Ken whipped out the knife on the back of his belt in an instant and deflected the bullet. Then, he rushed the man and stabbed him in the leg, before knocking him out. " Ken! You saved us." " No problem. I owed you." " How?" " I've figured out my dream, thanks to you. I'm gonna be as good, if not better, than cash at this hero thing. Now, stand back and watch." Ken entered the store. Minutes later, Ken returned, dragging the other crooks behind him.. " That was awesome Ken!" " Nothing to it." " Thank you young man. Is there anyway we can repay you?" Mrs. Turner said.' Well, I need a job. Got one available?" Mrs. Turner looked to her daughter. ' How does being Lucy's body guard sound?" " That works for me."


	85. Chapter 85

New munks

Her harmonica

" Mom, dad, I'm gonna go to the park, okay?" Eliza yelled. " Okay, honey. Just be careful." " I'll pack my sai. I'll be fine, mom." Eliza grabbed her said and shoved them into the back of the belt of her skirt. Then, she grabbed her favorite musical instrument of all time, a harmonica. But, it wasn't just any harmonica. Her father gave it to her for her fifth birthday. He had gone to great lengths to get it, because this particular brand wasn't even made anymore. She took to it right away. It had it's own private case that sat on a little shelf above her bed. This is where she kept her sai as well. She rarely took it out, but when she did, she played it all day long. On days like today, Eliza would take her harmonica, go to the park, sit under a shady tree and play to her heart's content. Alvin thanked God to have her gone. " Now we can focus on her birthday party." He said to Brittany. Today's date was the sixteenth of February. Eliza's birthday was the seventeenth. Tomorrow, she would turn nine years old. " Think Cash and Kate have Tom's birthday worked out yet?" Alvin asked. " Let's let them worry about their son. We have our own kid's birthday party to work out." ' Okay." " Now, where are we having it?" "Well, we could always ask Dave or Xavier to let us have at one of their houses again." " No, We've relied on them enough already. Come on think. Where would be a good place?... I've got it! I know where we'll have it." " Cool. And, where is that exactly honey?" " Where do all the kids have the most fun?" " Jesse's arcade?" " Think bigger." " hmmm... Oh! The beach!" " exactly. It's been a while since we've had a beach party anyways." ' Your brilliant, dear." ' I know. Hmm, say Alvin?" ' Yeah?" " We know tom's gonna be there." " Yeah, so?" " Well, I was thinking about if we should invite Rex to the party. You know how fond Liz is of him. But, if Tom and Rex would start fighting at her party...' " I see what you mean. It'd ruin it for her. And, she only turns nine once." " So, do we invite him?" " Well, I think that if we asked Charlene to come, she can keep Rex in check." " What about Harry and the other kids?" " Well, they aren't to fond of our baby girl, now are they?" " True, but it wouldn't be fair." ' Okay. We'll invite them all. We'll just have to keep a close eye on them." "Sounds like a plan to me." Meanwhile, Eliza had found herself a nice spot in the park. " Hmm, now what to play, what play?" She began to think. Suddenly, an old country song she had heard Dave play popped in her head. " The devil went down to Georgia! Perfect!" She began to ply the song, on the harmonica, like the expert she was. " Wow, that took a lot more air than I thought it would. Well, I'm done. I should go home now." As she walked towards the entrance tot he park, she heard a beautiful sound. "Is that a harmonica?" She had to go find out. She saw a young man, about the same age as her father, sitting on a bench. ' Um, excuse me?" She asked him. " Oh, hello there." " Yeah, hi. That was beautiful. Was that really all on this harmonica?" " Sure was. I take it you like the harmonica?" " Yeah. I got one of my own right here, see?" " That's a nice looking one, alright. Where'd you get it?" " My dad got it for me for my fifth birthday. I'm eight now, turning nine tomorrow." " Well, happy birthday." " Thanks." " By the way, what's your name?" " Eliza. Eliza Seville." " Seville? Are you related to Alvin Seville, of the chipmunks?" " Related!? He's my dad." " I thought there was something about you that felt familiar." " Familiar? You knew my dad?" " yup. My first harmonica, that my own son has now, was given to me by your dad when we were kids. It was Christmas and I was sick with Cholera.. All I wanted was this particular golden Echo Harmonica and he already had one. I guess he over heard and gave me his. IT worked wonders for my condition and after I was all better, my mother, sister and I went to the chipmunks Christmas concert and I joined them onstage." ' Wow, cool. Oh, I forgot to ask, what's your name?" " It's Tommy." ' I have a direct cousin named Tom." " Cool. So, what's your harmonica? I didn't get a good look at it.' " It's a rare one. They made them only in Phoenix, Arizona, and only for three years. At least, that's what dad said. I think it's called a firebird's song harmonica, the name plate has always been a little faded." " Firebird's song.. Yeah, I've heard of them. Very nice little, compact instruments. Only heard one played in my life, but it was beautiful thing. Those were tuned in a way that only a master craftsman could pull off. I heard that's actually why they stopped making them. The man who made them in Phoenix died. They tried to replicate his work, but they could never seem to get them to sound as good as the original one's he made." " You know a lot about Harmonicas, Tommy." " Well, it's all thanks to your father. After he gave me that golden echo harmonica, it awakened a love of music in me. So, I went about becoming a music teacher. I am, to my knowledge, the only music teacher in town, specializing in Harmonicas." "Cool. Could you teach me?" ' You look like you can play pretty well already." " yeah I guess, But I think that you know some things I don't. Am I right?" " well, I don't know. But, if you want to learn, I think I can teach you some things." " Alright!" " Eliza!" ' Oh, Hi daddy." " I've been wondering where you've been. I knew you left to play your harmonica in peace, but your never gone this long. What have you been doing?" " Talking to Tommy here." " Alvin?" ' uh, yeah?" " You don't recognize me, do you?" ' Can't say I do. Am I supposed to?" " I got this Tommy. I'm good at making daddy remember things. Daddy, do you remember a boy, that your gave your first golden Echo Harmonica to?' 'How'd you know that? I never told you." " Tommy told me all about it." ' How does he know about that?" ' Come on daddy, you know why. Think about his name. Think really hard." " Tommy, Tommy. The name's starting to ring a bell. But, then again, I've been hit in the head so much that I'm probably confusing it with something else. Heck, I'm lucky to remember my own name." ' Daddy, Tommy is that same boy!" " Holy Crap! Your kidding? The little sick kid I gave that harmonica to, that's you Tommy?" " Yup." " Man. You look completely different. That's what threw me, made me take so long to realize it." ' It's okay. I get that from a lot of people I know that haven't seen me for a while." " how've you been?" ' Pretty good, can't complain. I'm a music teacher now." ' specializing in Harmonicas. He said he'll teach me about the things I don't already know about them." " Really now? Well, good luck. Trust me, this is the voice of experience, Eliza can be a handful. You sure you want to do this for free?" "Daddy!" " I'm sure. I owe it to you, Alvin." " Well, Thanks, I guess. Say, would you like to come to Eliza's birthday party tomorrow?" " I'd be honored. Where is it?" ' The beach." ' Cool!' Eliza shouted. " But, won't your wife be mad about you just inviting me at random? She doesn't even know me, are you sure she won't mind?" Tommy asked. " That's why I'm about to ask you this. Would you like to have dinner at our place tonight? You'd get to meet Brittany, my wife, and we could catch up." " That sounds good to me." " Then that's our plan." And so the three went back to Alvin's house. The next day, Tommy did arrive at Eliza's party and gave her a fresh name plate for her harmonica. When asked how he got this, he only said that he had his ways.

New munks

Michael

Two days after Eliza's giant party, and then Tom's the next day, it was drawing close to yet two more birthdays. Tony and Olivia's. While Tom was born only hours after Eliza, Olivia and Tony were born at the same time. So, Simon and Jeanette went out With Eleanor to plan their party, which would be tomorrow. IT was up to Theodore to keep Tony, Olivia and Ben all occupied. " So, what are we gonna do daddy?" Olivia asked. " Well, errands first. We need pop, milk, yogurt and.. Salami? What in the world is your mother asking for salami for? Oh well, better not to ask I guess." " Okay.. And then what are we going to do uncle Theodore?" Tony asked. " Hmm, let me think. Where haven't you guys been in a while?" " We haven't been to Cold stone creamery in a while." Ben said. Cold stone was an ice cream shop. It was renowned for it's unique method of preparing ice cream cones. For starters, they had their name sake, the cold stone, in every store. It was a granite slab that was kept at 20 degrees. Using this stone's temperature and smooth surface, they would take scoops of a customer's chosen ice cream, lay it on the stone and put a little pocket in it. Then, they would add nuts, chocolate chips, and other ' mix-ins' that the customer chose, before mixing it all up and putting it in a waffle cone to give to the customer. " Okay then, we'll go there. But, first things first. Let's go get those groceries." After arriving at the store, Theodore divvied up the shopping list. ' Okay, I'll get the salami. Libby, Benny, why don't you go get the yogurt and Milk?" " Okay, let's go Benjy." ' Tony, would you mind getting the pop?" " Not a problem Uncle Theodore. How big?" " I think two twenty-four packs should do us fine."" Okay, Uncle Theodore." Later on, in the check out line. " Excuse me, aren't you Theodore Seville, of the chipmunks?" A man behind the group asked. " Yes, I am." When Ben turned around to get a look at the man his father was talking to, he shouted " Ah! Monster!" Tony, who had been unaware that the man was talking to Theodore in the first place, spun around, prepared to fight. " Monster? Where?" Ever since the incident with Frankenstein's creatures at Jesse's arcade, Tony had been leery about the word monster. The whole deal with Makoto and the creature's he summoned didn't help. However, Tony saw no monster. " Ben? Where's the monster?' Tony asked. " Right there1' Ben yelled, pointing at the man. Theodore shook his head. " sorry about that. Ben's never seen a guy with a birth defect like you. At least not one on his face." " That's okay. I get it a lot." " Now, you were asking if I was Theodore?" " Yeah." " Why?" "Well, I wanted to talk to my old friend and I didn't want to be talking with the wrong chipmunk." " uh, sorry, my memory's gone down the tubes as of late. Who are you?" 'Theo, it's me, Michael. Remember? " " Michael.. Oh! Yeah, now I remember. Sorry, Mike. I've gotten socked in the head a few more times than I care to tell about." " It's alright." ' You look well." " I am. And, even though I have this 'deformity', some might call it, I've got a beautiful girl who loves me for me." " Good for you." Michael, a.k.a. pumpkin head, was an old friend of Theodore's. He had a birth defect that deformed part of his face and made his large, like a pumpkin, hence the hurtful nickname. There were many rumors about him, but when Theodore met him, he realized they were all lies and they became friends. After talking to Michael a bit more, Theodore, following in Alvin's footsteps, invited him to the birthday party tomorrow. " I'll be the first one there." Michael promised.


	86. Chapter 86

New munks

Rock star blues

" Phew. Thank God this is all over." Alvin said as he sat down. The munks and family were gathered at Dave's house. Unlike Alvin and Brittany, the blue and green clad parents had no problems asking Dave to use his house for their kids party. " You can say that again, honey. Now we don't have to worry about anymore birthdays for another month. Thank God!" Brittany said. " Yup, not until the first of April." Cash said. That was Helen's birthday. Ben's was one week after that. " One glorious month where we don't to go crazy organizing parties and sending invitations and all that crap. Oh March, I love you so!" Brittany let out. The munks laughed at this, but inside they were thinking the same thing. It was always chaotic for them come February. What with Valentine's day and then all the birthdays coming one right after the other, they barely had time for anything else. However, this seemed to be exactly when Todd wanted to do the most recordings. " I swear on my life, Brittany's life, Liz's life and any other lives that I can swear on, that, if Todd calls today and says he wants to do some recordings or something, I'm going to march down there and do something horrible to him." Alvin said. " Your gonna kill him?" Theodore asked. "You know what, that doesn't sound like a bad idea." aw, your just tired." Eleanor said. " Maybe, but I think I may just kill him if he calls. " " Alvin, are you getting lazy? You always wanted us to be rock stars and that's part of the job description." Simon said. " Yeah but, this is ridiculous. I knew being a big rock star would involve a lot of hard work, but come on! Wanting us to work and record and blah blah blah, when we've got parties like this to worry about? Sometimes I wonder if Todd's any better to us than Ian was." " At least Todd' never tried to turn us against Dave." Simon said. " Yeah, gotta give him that. And, He's been pretty good about letting us bring in all these guys to the label. I mean, we got Eli, Harry and Charlene jobs there, and Jerry frickin' lives there. Yeah, I take it back. He's pretty cool. Acts like a slave driver at times, but he's cool." " Alvin, Todd's nothing like a slave driver." " O really? Think about it Sy." " I give up. There's no point in arguing with you." " Yes! And Alvin wins again." The munks shook their heads. ' Come on honey, don't you think your still being a little unfair to Todd? All he wants is for Chipmunk records to stay the overwhelming success that it is. And Todd, being the general manager, has to organize this three ring circus we call a business. You can't blame the guy for not being mister nice all the time." Brittany said. ' you have a point. Hmm, think we ought to send him on a vacation then? I mean, we've taken, what? Two or three already? Meanwhile he's been working his tail off. What do you think, Cash?" " That sounds like a good idea to me. Okay, all those in favor, say 'aye'." Cash said. " Aye!" " The ayes have it. We'll let Todd know tomorrow." " We'll call this his late Christmas present." Theodore said. " Theodore, Todd's Jewish." Simon said. " Okay, late Hanukah present then." " That's more like it." " hello?" Xavier answered his phone. " Oh hello, Mrs. Turner." " Mrs. Turner?" Theodore asked. " CEO of Turner Enterprises and the wife of the wealthiest man in town." Simon said. ' Next to good old Grandpa Xavier." Tom said. ' Actually, even though it's by a very narrow margin, Mr. Turner is wealthier than Xavier." Simon said. " Well, I'm at my great grandkids birthday party.. Yes, I understand that Camille but.. 'sigh' alright. Okay, I'll be there soon. Sorry guys, I gotta go."

New munks

Chipmunk charity

" why Grandpa?" Olivia asked. " My company, Franklin industries, Mr. Derringer's company, Derringer Inc. And Turner Enterprises are teaming together to take over throwing the orphan's benefit this year. The time of the year changes every year. This one is going to be this Saturday. Darryl told me the time and asked me to help out after the kids performed the other day." "so, why do you need to go?" Tony asked. " because, they need me to okay some things. I'm sorry guys, they really need me. I don't wanna leave you guys like this, believe me. You know I love you. But, there's a lot going on with it. It's.. Complicated. Chaotic really." " How's it chaotic though?" Helen asked. " There's just so much stuff they wanna do, Nell. Too much to explain to you guys." " Okay. We understand. But, tell us, how much are they charging?" Katrina asked. " They're charging twenty bucks admission for a family of three to four to attend. It's open to any body. There'll be food and everything people look for, and we'll take donations mid-way through. But, the kicker is that all three companies agreed to not only match whatever is made in admission and donations, but also add twenty grand onto that." " Wait, all three companies agreed to donate all that money together, or individually?" " Individually." " That's a lot of money." Eliza said." Yes it is." " Say, X?" " Yes Cash?" " just thinking, do they have any entertainment planned yet?" " Not to my knowledge." " Then put us down, okay guys?" " Yeah. It's about time we chipmunk started giving back." Simon said. " Maybe we should start some charities too." Eleanor said. " That sounds like a good idea. We should start trying to come up with ideas for charities." Jeanette said. " Yeah." " Vinny, did we put that giving spirit in them or is it natural?" Dave asked. " I Think it's natural. Part of it may be from the way we raised them, but, I think it's just the way they are." " Yeah, they're here to make the city a better place, in any way they can." " That's about the size of it." " Thanks you guys. I'll let them know that you've volunteered to perform. Well, I got to go. Let me know what you come up with, and Franklin industries will team with you guys to do it. We'll take care of all of it, so that Todd doesn't have any thing else to worry about." " Okay, cool. See you later X." Alvin said. " I'll make this up to you guys, I promise." " It's okay grandpa." Tony and Olivia said. " No, I insist."' Well, okay, if you insist." Tony said. " I do. Alright, I better go. Love you guys." ' We love you too, Grandpa." The munks settled in to watch TV until Xavier got back. They didn't say anything, but silently decided to not end the party until Xavier returned. Meanwhile, the kids were talking amongst themselves over the benefit. " Think we could get to perform at that thing?" Eliza asked. " I doubt it. I think they'll leave us with Grandma Miller, if she doesn't go to." Tony said. " Why are our parents so cruel to us? Why don't they take us to these things?' Tom asked. " I think it's our own fault, actually." Olivia said. " Our fault?" Tom asked. " Well, yeah. Think about the last time we went to a benefit. Just after my and Tony's sixth birthday, three years ago. Remember?" " Oh, yeah, that." Eliza said. " Did you have to bring Edge?" Tony asked Tom." Hey, he was just a little puppy and didn't know better. And, how was I supposed to know that he'd get loose and cause so much trouble?" " Trouble? Tom, we had to chase him down all over that place. By the time we caught him, he'd already jumped into the punch bowel and ran through all the food on the table, in front of everybody!" ' Alright, I'm sorry I brought my dog okay?"

New munks

Ben's weapon

After listening to the elder kids argue and complain about not being able to go to the benefit, Ben and Helen had heard enough. Though it was rare for all the older kids to argue with each other, when they did, it usually lasted an hour. So, Helen headed off to find a good book or a magazine to read. She thought about dipping into Dave's stash of blueberry taffies, because she knew where it was, but decided not to. She thought that, if Dave found her with the bag, he'd never get her any more. And, that was something that she couldn't let happen. So, instead, she opted to ask Dave if she could have some. " Sure thing Nell. I keep them in a little bag in the back of the fridge." " I know." " what?" " uh-oh." " you know where it is?" ' Uh, yeah." ' How long?" " For about a month now." " Why did you go looking for it?" ' I didn't, I swear. I was looking for something to eat when we came over that time. I saw what I thought was a bag of grapes in the back and I pulled out. But, I promise that I didn't go looking for them nor take any out. I'll admit that I thought about it, but I knew better than to actually do it. Oh, I wish I'd never found the bag in the first place." " Nell." " Yes?" " Go ahead and take the bag." " What? Why?" " Because you were honest with me. I wish you'd told me sooner, but at least you were honest. So, go ahead and take the whole bag.' " Wow, thanks Grandpa!" Meanwhile, Ben was looking around for something. " Did you lose something, honey?" Vinny asked. " I don't know. Dad, did we leave my gloves at home?" He asked Theodore. Wanting to be more useful in a fight, Ben had opted to get a weapon of his own. He wanted a ball and chain based weapon called a meteor hammer. But, when Cash told him how it had to swung around the body to get up to the speed needed to make successful attack, Ben realized that he'd probably smack everybody in the face before he could attack. So, he canceled on that choice. Then, he thought long and hard about what he was actually good at when it came to fighting. It pretty much boiled down to simple punching. When he realized this, he wondered if there were any weapons that could upgrade his punching abilities and went to Cash about it. Cash told him that there were several, but most had a sword attached. Ben didn't want to kill anybody, just hurt them badly enough to make them leave. Then, cash told him about SAP gloves. These looked like normal gloves, but had metal sewn into the knuckle area. They were often used by police to subdue people with as little injury to themselves or the person in question as possible. That was all Ben needed to hear. He wanted to order a pair, but all the available sizes were to big for him. Luckily for him though, he had an aunt and uncle named Cash and Katrina. While cash designed the knuckles, with a thick back plate to cover Ben's hand and act as a small shield, Katrina made the gloves that would hide them. They put the two together, sewed it up and had Ben try them out. Not only did they fit comfortably, but the padding Katrina had sewn into the gloves made it so the metal would not dig into Ben's hand when he swung them around. In short, Ben knew all the metal components were in there, but he couldn't feel them. But, the padding was only on the inside. The outer part only had a layer of leather covering the metal knuckles and back plate. Meaning, this was going to hurt the bad guys a lot more than it could possibly hurt Ben, but wouldn't kill them. And, that suited Ben just fine. " Yeah, I think we did." " Okay, never mind then."


	87. Chapter 87

New munks

Rival

Eventually, Xavier returned to the party. " Ah, Good. Xavier is back, we can finally blow out the candles now." Dave said. " Come on, Grandpa!" Olivia yelled, tugging on Xavier's arm. Xavier didn't move. " Is something wrong, Grandpa?" Tony asked. Xavier looked odd. He had an odd expression on his face. Tom walked up to Xavier. " Helllllooo? Earth to grandpa. Calling Xavier Franklin, do you read me?" Tom snapped hi fingers in Xavier's face. He still didn't move. " I think he's dead.' " Tom!' Everybody said. " what? He isn't moving. Or, did he have one of those, what do you call them, strokes?" " Tom, stop talking like that!" Dave said. " Okay, I'm sorry. But ,tell me something grandpa. If he isn't dead, and hasn't had a stroke, why isn't he moving?" " Well, I have no idea Tom. But, I know he's not dead. Jeanette, your the only one in the family with any significant medical knowledge. What do you think is wrong with him?" " Let's see. He's breathing normally. His heart rate is fine. His eyes aren't dilated. If I had to say anything. I'd say that he's in shock." " shock?" 'Yes, like he's seen a ghost or something. But, then again, we've seen ghosts before, so seeing one shouldn't have shocked him like this." " He must have saw something truly unbelievable then.. How do we snap him out of it?" " I've got an idea.' tom said. ' What?" " Watch." Tom climbed onto a chair close to Xavier, leaned in towards the side of his grandfather's head and yelled. " Wake up Grandpa!" Xavier snapped out of it with a jerk. " No need to thank me." Tom said. Dave shook his head. " What? May have been crude, but it worked, didn't it?" " Are you okay now Grandpa?" Olivia asked. " uh, yeah." " What was wrong with you? You looked like you'd seen a ghost." Eliza aid. " No, I've seen ghosts before. No, this was something stranger." ' What?' " I saw ken." " Ikebana?" Cash asked. " Oh good, I've been looking for his sorry tail. I haven't kicked anything's butt for the last while. He'll do just fine. Where is he?" Tom asked. " Tom, let the man speak." " Okay. Go on Grandpa." " I saw him at the meeting. He came towards the end. He was there to escort Mrs. Turner and her daughter Lucy home. I couldn't believe it, but, I saw him smile and play around with the little girl, like he liked her." " Okay, You have to be kidding us. We're talking about Ken here. The guy doesn't like any body, and we've never seen him smiling. I, personally, don't think he can." Alvin said. " Yeah, are you sure it wasn't just somebody who looked like him?" Andy asked. " No, it was him alright. Everything exactly the same as the last time we saw him. There's no mistaking, that was him." " Couldn't be. This is same guy who tried to kill the kids not to long ago?" " Yes." " you said he was there as an escort?" Cash asked. " You sound awfully calm, considering this is the same guy who tries to kill you at every opportunity." Alvin said. " Not know Alvin. Well X?" ' yeah. He said it himself. " Mrs. Turner, Lucy, I'm here to escort you home.' And Then Mrs. Turner said " Ah, Ken, good, we've been expecting for a while.' But, what really got me, was what he said next. " I'm sorry, I had to pick something up for Lucy.' " " He apologized!? ..And picked up something for that little girl, with nothing in it for him!?" Alvin said. " We can't be talking about the same guy now. Apologizing, doing things for others, that can't be the same Ken!" " But it was." " Did he try to attack you?" Cash asked. ' No. He just looked at me for a second, then started talking to the Turners." " Anything else?" ' Lucy told, as they left, that he'd be at the benefit too."

New munks

Rival: part 2

The time flew by and it was now time for the benefit. Leaving the kids with Ms. Miller, as Tony had suspected, the parents went on. " Okay, now, does anybody have a plan, just in case this is some royally screwed up, complicated plan to get at Cash?" Alvin asked. The other munks shook their heads. " Seriously? Nobody thought about this but me?' " It's not that we didn't think about it, it's just that... Well, this is a party, and there will be a lot of people around. He may stray from the complete code, but Ken does follow bushido, the code of the samurai, to some degree. If he wanted to fight me, he wouldn't do it there.' Cash said. ' But, Cash, you have to remember something. Ken is crazy! The guy injected himself with a ton of steroids, just so he could try to be stranger than you. And, think about all the stuff he's done to you. Right there is more than enough reason to hate this guys guts." " I know that Alvin, but, you have to remember something else. This is the same guy who had every opportunity to kill me back during our little adventure in the forest. True, he probably didn't kill me because, thought he wouldn't admit it, he needed me to get out, but he could have killed me and tried to go alone, which is much more his speed. On top of that, in the forest, he asked me some things. Like, why was I fighting so hard to get the kids back? And, he didn't say anything after I told him that, no matter how much he didn't like the fact, Agito and I were always going to be father and son, and there was nothing he could ever do about it. That was a silent way of admitting that I was right. I think that that really sunk in, really hit home. Which, I think, explains why he didn't come back for so long." " yeah, but, when he did come back, why'd he try to kill the kids?" " That I don't know. Maybe we'll get him to tell us himself." "Well, Okay. I still say that we should keep an eye on him though." " We will, Alvin, we will." Simon said." I think that's all we really can do, anyways. We can't fight very well in these suits." Theodore said. After arriving, they quickly located Mrs. Turner. She was there with Her husband and daughter. " Where is he?" Cash immediately asked. " Who?" " Ken." " oh, he's over by the drink table. He be back over in a minute." ' hey Cash?" Lucy asked. " Yes?" ' Hi, I'm Lucy Turner. Big fan." " Thanks, and?" " Well, I want you to know that Ken's changed. He's us told about the things he's done to you, but, He really has changed. I know, I helped. When I met just a few days ago, he was sitting alone in the park, moping about how his life had turned out. After we talked for a bit, I said something that really struck a cord in him. Those words caused him to realize what his dream really is. He knows now that he doesn't actually want to kill you. No, in reality, he's realized that all he ever actually wanted to do, was try to prove that he could do anything you could do.. He's admitted that he was jealous of you, because of how Mr. Ikebana treated you. He didn't want to accept that you were family now, that's true, but what really got to him was that Mr. Ikebana treated you like a son, while he was only treated like a grandson. But now, he's come to realize that being jealous and mad at you is just stupid. That it's just weighing him down. So, he gave that up. Then, he came to thank me for helping him. When he found me, these crooks were trying to kidnap me and my mom, and then were going to kill everyone in the store were at. He saved us all. And now, he's my body guard and is really good to me. So, you see, he's one of the good guys now. He said he wants to try this hero thing out, and from what I've seen, he's not bad."

New munks

Rival: part 3

" You have to be kidding us, right? A big old change like that, brought on by a little girl? Seriously?" Alvin asked. " you'd be surprised what our daughter is capable of. She's a very intelligent young lady." MR. Turner said. Lucy grinned. At this point, Ken returned. " There you go Lucy. Fruit punch, with two shots of sugar. And, here's that martini you wanted Mr. Turner." "Thank you Ken, But, you really should turn around and look who's behind you." " Huh? Oh, hello Cash.' " And hello yourself." " Listen, I don't want to.." Fight me? Yeah, we know. Lucy told us everything." ' But, do you really believe all of it, Cash? This is Ken we're talking about." "In case you forgot already, I'm standing right here." Ken said. " Whatever. Well Cash?" " Ken, do you have your sword?" " No. I didn't bring it with me, cause I had no intent to fight you." " Well, there you go Al. If this was the same old ken, He'd have his sword with him. Not only that, he'd have to my throat by now. I can't say I'm not surprised, but Lucy has no reason to lie to us. And, if you notice, Ken's made no move to attack us. I think this is for real." " Well, okay, if it's okay with you." Alvin said. " Uh, welcome to the good guys side, Ken." Alvin said, nervously extending his hand. Alvin braced to be thrown when Ken took his hand, but was surprised when Ken merely shook it. " Thanks, I guess. What's the matter? Oh come on, Alvin, I'm one of the 'good guys' now, right?" ' Yeah." " Well, do heroes hurt fellow heroes?" ' No, they don't. But, uh, they are modest, like Cash here. They don't go around boasting that they're heroes, like you just did." " Oh, right, gotcha." " Hey, it's okay, your still new to this. I mean, it's hard to become a hero when you start from a neutral point like we did, but it's even harder to do when you start out on the villains side. Don't worry, we'll teach you how to be a hero.' " What were you just saying about being modest, Alvin?" Simon asked. The munks laughed. " Cash?" " Yeah Ken?" " Can you forgive me?" ' Huh?" " For all the things I've done to you." " Ken, you'll find, that if nothing else, I learned to be forgiving from Agito." " Is that a yes then?" " Yes, yes it is." " Thank you. Hey, come here." " uh, why? You gonna hug me or something?" " No, I want to show somebody something." ' Who?" " Just come here." ' Okay." ken pulled out his wallet. He pulled out Agito picture. " Agito." Cash said solemnly." " Look, Grandfather. I know you wanted this for a long time. Well, here it is. Cash and I, finally getting along." ' Yeah, like family should." Cash said. " yeah, like family should.' ken said. " Whoa, am I hearing things? Did Cash and Ken really just call each other family!?' Alvin asked. " Yeah, I think they did." Simon said. " Well, it's official then. Hell has frozen over." Alvin said. " Hey Cash?" ' Yeah Ken?" " I want you to know something." " What's that?" " that I'm gonna be twice the hero you are." " Oh, you think so do you?" " I know so." " Oh lord, they sound like tom and Rex." Eleanor said." From enemies to rivals." Simon said. " this is going to be something interesting for us, that much is clear." He continued. 'Uh, excuse me, Chipmunks?" " Yes.' Alvin said. " Your wanted on stage now." " thanks. Let's go Cash." "Right." Meanwhile, Andy, who had not gone to the party, was waiting the lounge like den of Xavier's home. He had a 'practice date' with Geneva tonight. She had a friend that was looking for somebody like Andy, and she intended to tutor him a little before setting them up. " This'll be good for me, right? Well, one thing is clear, it's going to be an interesting night." Andy thought to himself.


	88. Chapter 88

New munks

The practice date

" So, Andy, are you ready to go?" Geneva asked. The young man looked up. " Geneva.. You.. You look positively stunning." " Thanks you. And, that's lesson one covered." " Lesson one?" " Yup. Lesson one: always give the girl your out with compliments. Trust me, you can get far by compliments alone. I know, I'm a girl. One of the few in this world that will tell you these things. Girls love hearing compliments. " " I think everybody does." Andy said. " Not just girls.' ' Hmm, True. Point to the young Mr. McNab. But, you should give the girl compliments anyways. You'll find that lots of girls are insecure when comes to their appearance. It's really about half and half. Half do care, a lot, and the other half don't really give a flying you know what." " and which are you?' " Me? Well, I guess you can say I'm an odd ball. I lean both ways. Sometimes I care, like now, and sometimes I don't, like when I'm working." " I see. Are there a lot like you?" " I'm sure I'm not the only one. Now then, shall we get going?" " yeah, let's go." Andy took Geneva's arm, like she said he should. At the restaurant. " And your drink ma'am?" " I think I'll have the raspberry tea, thank you." " Alright, and you sir?" the man asked Andy. " Hmm, let me think. Oh, this sounds good. I'll have the roasted, caramel glazed chicken with toasted almonds. I'll pass on a salad. And, I think I'll have a simple glass of soda pop." ' Alright sir, what kind of soda?' " I think I'd like to have some Dr. Pepper tonight." " Alright. Dr. Pepper it is then. I'll take your menus. Thank you. Your food will be out momentarily." When all was quiet, there came a loud noise at the front of the restaurant. " what's all that racket?" Geneva asked quietly. " haven't a clue. You stay here. I'll look into it." " Thanks Andy." "For what? Protecting people is my job." Andy sneaked around the side of the wall, near the cash register. " Let's take a gander at what's going on." " I'm only going to tell you one more time! Give me all the money in bloody register and access to the vault!" " Please, God! Don't shoot!" ' Why you little twit!" The man yelled. " Hey mate, why don't you let the girl go? Can't you see? She's new. She doesn't know how to open the cash register, or where this place's vault is." Andy said to the man. " Who the hell are you!?" The man yelled. Andy noticed a distinct British accent, much like his own. The voice sounded familiar. " " My name doesn't matter. All you need to know is that what your doing is wrong, and that I'm going to take you down." " you sound just like him. Like that idiot, Andy, from my military days." "Wait a second, your military days? And you knew a man named Andy? " " What of it?' 'Take your mask off, Mike. I know it's you." " what?" ' Mike Libby, I know that's you! Take the bloody mask off!" The man slid the mask he had on off. " I was right. IT is you. Older, but definitely you. Yeah, that scar you gave me in our little quarrel all those years ago is burning. It's got to be you." " You.. You don't just sound like him, you are him! You are Andy McNab." " Well, glad you remember me. Hey, little lady, go on and get out of here. I'll take care of this. Go on, go call the cops." " Oh thank you thank you!" The woman cried and ran off.. " So, this is what the mighty mike Libby has resorted to? What happened mike? I thought you were going to be a great mercenary." ' I don't need to explain myself to you Andy. I have my own reasons." ' What ever. I'm still going to take you down." The two men grappled and Andy flung Mike to the floor. However, as Andy prepared to knock mike out, Mike did a spin kick to the side of Andy's head and then spun onto his feet. Andy, dazed from the vicious impact, slowly stumbled to his feet. " I'm giving you fair warning, Andy. Don't get involved. It could cost you your life." With that, Mike ran out the door. " Andy!" Geneva yelled. ' Well, that was bloody embarrassing. Ow, that actually hurt. I must be losing my edge. Getting soft." " Never mind all that. Are you okay?" ' I'm just fine. Just a little, well, confused. I just don't understand. Mike, by the sound of it, was doing well operating secretly as a mercenary. What the hell happened to him? The mike I knew would never resort to some thing like this." " who cares? You drove him off! That was great, just, really great." "Well, thanks I guess." " Thank you sir." The restaurant owner said. 'It was nothing." ' Nothing! That man was going to kill me! If you hadn't come when you did.. Thank god there are still people like you in this world." " aw, it was nothing." " He sound's like Cash.' Geneva thought. " You were eating here, right sir?" The owner asked. " yes." " Well, have you paid yet?" ' No." 'Well then, Your meals on the house. Everything you and your lady friend ordered, all free of charge. I think that sounds like a suitable reward, don't you think?" ' That sounds great. Thank you." The people applauded Andy all the way back to the table. ' please folks, we just want to eat now." Geneva said. The people stopped clapping and went back to their tables. " thank you." "So, how many guys can say they did something like that on a date with you?" Andy asked. " You would be the first." " Well, score one for me." Andy then seemed kind of distant. " What's the matter Andy?" " that guy.. That was mike Libby." The same guy that you fought and got kicked out of the corps over?" " yeah, that was him. He looked older, but that was him. I know him that well. And that's why I can't figure out why he'd do something like that. " " What? Betray his country or what he did just now?' ' I'll never understand the first one, but, I really don't get what happened just a minute ago. Mike's not exactly the most trust worthy fellow, but there is one thing that you can bank on with him. He's too proud to resort to petty robbery. Stealing is beneath him." " Yeah but, things change. Like, you said that he never used anything but tranquilizer guns, right?" ' yeah." " well, didn't he have a gun?" ' yes, but, I knew what kind just by looking at it. That gun was made to look like a regular gun, but, it's actually just another tranquilizer gun. That girl was in no real danger, but the gun was designed to make her think that she was." " scare tactics?" ' Most likely. Intimidate and then tranquilize. Yeah, that fits Mike's character. But, if he was some great mercenary, why would he do something like this?" ' Who knows? Guys like him are often demented. He could have done it just for kicks. Or, maybe he was ordered to do it. He is a mercenary." " Maybe. All I know for sure, is that I've got a lot of questions for him." " Well, just try to relax for now. I mean, nothing else can be done right now. Now then, would you like to know anything about the girl I told you about?" " I was just about to ask you about that." " Well, her name is Courtney and she could really use somebody to look out for her, other than me. See, I've known her about thirteen years. I first met her and her mom when she was five. Her dad died when she was just a baby. All she had was her mom. So, I became her friend and then like a big sister to her." ' That was nice of you.' " Well, thanks, but the story doesn't end there. See, her mom was in a car accident and is in a coma now. So, she doesn't have anybody, but me, now. She's really down right now and I can only do so much. So, if you could hang out with her too.. you don't actually have to become her boyfriend.. but if you'd just spend time with her and make her feel good, it would mean a lot to me." " I'll see what I can do." " Thank You, Andy."

New munks

We are way to old for that

" Man, this sucks!" Tom shouted. He and his cousins were at Ms. Miller's house. " you used to love to come over here tom." Miss Miller said." yeah. Normally I don't mind staying over here, but, I know that we're missing an awesome party!" "It's a benefit, Tom. It's all about gathering up money, from the rich, and giving it to those less fortunate kids out there. Kids in the same situation that Kathy used to be in." "And your point is?" ' I don't think you'd enjoy yourself." "What? Do I really seem that greedy to you? Come on, Tony, you and Ben know me better than anybody else. You know I'm nothing like that." " I know, that, Tom. It's just that.. Well, think of it this way. There's noting but old rich people there. And, there' probably not a single one of them that's cool like Grandpa Xavier. We've met a lot of old rich people. And, what do they all like to do to us?" 'Pinch our cheeks like there's no tomorrow." " Exactly. Do you really want to spend the entire evening with those kinds of people? Getting your face pulled on every few minutes? Let me tell you something, I sure don't. I hate when they do that kind of thing. It's embarrassing and they never tug lightly. They just yank. After the last time I was around a lot of people like that, my cheek was sore for an hour." " Yeah, good point. God, why does that hurt so much?" ' I think it's some weird strength that you only get when your old. It's like they've all got special old person strength, unlike Grandma Miller here. No offense grandma." Eliza said." None taken, Liz." "Yeah, and what's with that aggravating baby talk they use when they do it?" Olivia said. " Oh man, don't remind us that garbage, Libby. God, I can hear that crap now. " Oh, look at you. Such big strong boy.' And crap like that. Do they think that we can't hear them? And, how old do they think we are? You'd think that they'd realize that we're too old for the crap." ' I know. When it happens to me, I just start praying that mom and dad will pull me away from them, before they can cause any lasting damage." Eliza said. " So, you see my point, Tom?" " Yeah. I guess it' a good thing. Saves us a lot of pain, that's for sure. But, I still wish we had something interesting to do." " Like what?" " Well, I'd like to kick one of those group guys in the head right now. I'd like to kick some group butt." " What? Do you think Claus and Claudia will just fall out of the sky and coming looking for a fight?" " Is that possible? Could that happen? Please tell me it could. I'm so bored right now!" " Tom..." " Give it up, Tony. He gets like this when he's really bored. He'll come out of it eventually, you've just got to be patient." Helen said. " Come on! Something happen already!" The kids all shook their heads. " How long does that take again?" Tony asked. " Like I said, you've to be patient." " In other words, not for a while." Eliza said and then hung her head. ' Oh!' She said, her head snapping back up. " What?" Olivia asked. " you've heard that term ' put a sock in it' right?" " yeah." " Well, do you think he'd shut up if we actually did?" " Eliza, now's not the time for joking." Olivia said. "I'm not joking, I'm completely serious." The kids shook their heads again. "Ugh, so bored. Come on, please. I begging ya, let something happen." " Oh, I can't take his whining!" Eliza yelled. She then pounced on Tom. " Eliza! What the heck are you doing?" "What's it look like? I'm shutting him up." " Your choking him!" " So?" They pulled her off of Tom. " You okay?" " Yeah, I think so. You.. There's something not right with you girl." " Whatever. Your not bored anymore, are you?" "Well, no." " Well then, problem solved.'


	89. Chapter 89

_New munks_

_Andrea_

_The next day, Tom was still saying, for the first time ever, that his dad was lying. He still couldn't comprehend that Ken, the same man who had threatened to kill pretty much all of the munks at some point or another, was now one of the good guys. He swore that Cash had to be lying. But, t at didn't really matter to Simon right now. Tom wasn't his son, so why worry about what he was saying? Simon was more focused on figuring out the latest batch of hieroglyphics and texts that Les and Justine had found. "This doesn't make any sense. Maybe if I cross reference it with the language translator program and compare it to other ancient tribes' languages. I'm not doubting Les and Justine's skills, but I'm doubtful that these are actually even Twee-twee tablets. I think this is some other culture that is just referencing them. 'sigh' I need a break. But, then again, she's up there." Simon was talking about a friend of Jeanette's, who was visiting his wife today. Her name was Andrea. Andrea was a nice enough person. Perfectly likable in most situations. But, the thing was, Andrea got on Simon's nerves more than anybody else that he'd ever met. She always had a smart comment ready for when he would inevitably have to come into the room she and Jeanette were in. " This is great. Every times she comes over, I basically have two options. Stay trapped down here until she leaves, or go up there and run the risk of saying something else that I don't mean to." Simon couldn't control himself around Andrea. The only was reason he put up with her was on account of Jeanette. " Please, please leave soon." Simon begged. He couldn't wait much longer. He was thirsty and didn't even have a bottle of water to drink. " It's no good. I'm so thirsty that it's killing me. I may keel over from dehydration before Andrea leaves. Okay, Simon, swallow your pride and just take whatever she flings at you.' Simon walked up the stairs. " Well, if it isn't the phantom himself. What have you been doing all this time, Simon?" " Working." " On what?" ' Something for a cousin. He and his wife are archeologists. We've all become interested in our ancient ancestors, the twee-twee tribe, and we're working closely together to figure out all we can on them." " Focusing on the past eh? Well, that's nice I guess. But you know, the present isn't too bad either. Speaking of that, have you even looked at Jeanette today?" " Yes, I have. She's the first thing I make sure to look at when I wake up in the morning. I know for a fact that, no where in the in the bible is it promised that we'll wake up after we go to sleep at night. So, I always make sure to check on her, make sure she's still with me." " Your one lucky man, alright, Sy. You should spend more time with her, and less on your work." " Oh, here we go again. Look, Andrea, I spend plenty of time with the family. I devote half my day to them." ' It should be three quarters of your day." ' But, then nothing would get done. Speaking of which. I'd best get back to work." ' And off he goes. Hmm, say Simon, you like thinking about the past right?' " Yes." " Alright, I got something for you to think about. Are you aware that it's been nine years since Jeanette had a little chipmunk bun in her oven?" ' What are you trying to say?" " Oh nothing. Just that, you'd think that, as much seem to love her, you'd give her more than one kid. Are you just too busy, or, did you lose your edge?" " Andrea!" Jeanette said. " Like your any better? You've never even been married. And, wasn't your last boyfriend a crazy drug dealer that you had to get a restraining order against? What would your mom say to that?" Andrea, ran off, crying._

_New munks_

_Like her father_

" _Oh great! I did it again! Why does she always have to push me!?" " I don't know, but, I think both of you might have gone a little too far." ' yeah, I know. I shouldn't have brought up her mom, god rest her. That was like her using dad against me. It was a cheap shot. " " It wasn't all your fault, dear. She did push you. Insinuating that the reason we don't have another child isn't because we haven't tried, it's because you can't? That was pretty low of her." ' Yes, but, that doesn't make using a person's dearly departed mother against them right. I just don't get it. I'm a likable guy, aren't I? I try to be nice to everybody, even those that get on my nerves. So, why is that she's the only one with a problem with me? She's good to you, and Tony, but, she singles me out. why?' " Um, Simon?' ' yeah." " I think I know why." " Why?" " Because you remind her of her father." " What?" " We were just talking about him. He just died. She was telling me about how he treated her, and was asking me if I thought she should still go to his funeral. He was a man of science, like you. But, unlike you, he never made time to be with his family. Eventually, her mother had enough of the neglect and filed for divorce. Now, by the sound of it, he wasn't a very nice man to begin with, but I think he may have gotten even worse after the divorce. She said he was always shouting at her and yelling about her mother didn't raise her right." ' I see. So, me yelling at her like that, was like her father yelling at her. Now I feel worse. I get it now. She was only trying to keep us from ending up like her family, even if she didn't go about it in the best way. I see...Jeanette, we have to find her." " Alright, let's go. She couldn't have gone to far. Hmm, wait a second. Tony." " Yeah mom?" Tony poked his head around the corner. " Tony, were you listening?" Simon asked." Yeah, sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. It's just that, I heard you yelling, and you hardly ever yell, dad. I wanted to see what was going on.' " It's alright. Do you want to come with us? Help us find her?" Simon asked. " yeah, let's go." Meanwhile. " Stupid Simon! He's just as bad as dad was." " why are you crying?" " Huh?" Andrea looked behind her. " Karl?" Karl was Andrea's last boyfriend, the one she had a restraining order against. " Come on, baby. Tell me what's wrong." " I'm not your baby. Not anymore." " Oh yes you are. You think a lousy restraining order will keep me from what's mine.' " I'm a human being, Karl, not a thing. You don't own me." " your mine and your going to come with me!" " Stay away!" As he got close, Andrea kicked Karl in the stomach. " You little bitch!' Karl raised his hand and Andrea closed her eyes, bracing to be slapped. But, the attack didn't come. Andrea opened her eyes and saw why. Simon was holding Karl's arm by the wrist. " Don't you have any manners, Karl? It's guys like you, that give all of us a bad name." " Simon.. You.." "Are you okay Andrea?" " Yeah." " Good, Jean, Tony, get her out of here. I'll take care of him." " Come on, let's go." Jeanette said. " Jeanette, what's going on? I thought Simon hated me." " No, he doesn't hate you, he just lost his temper. And, so you know, it was actually his idea to come find you." " I see. And as rough as I am on him.. Um, will he be alright?" " Ask him yourself." " What?" Simon came up, dusting off his hands. " Simon, you.." " Took care of him? Yeah, it was easy. By the way, I'm sorry about what I said." " I'm sorry too. And, thank you." ' No problem. Wanna bury the hatchet?" " Yeah. But, I still think you two should try to have another kid." " Here we go again." Jeanette and Tony said._

_New munks_

_Still not ready_

" _Okay, and with a little torque here..." Alvin said. He was working on Brittany's car. " There we go. Now, let me get out from under this car and then you try the ignition, honey." he said to Brittany. Brittany followed what her husband said. She turned the key and the car roared to life. " Wow! You fixed it, honey. I've never heard the car purr like that before. Great job. By the way, what was wrong with it anyways?" " A few things were loose. I guess you must have gone over a speed bump too fast and it knocked some things loose. I tightened those back up and tweaked a few other things to make it ride smoother, with out taking anything away from the acceleration or brakes or anything like that. It'll still go just as fast as it did before, and stop just as quick, but you won't feel all the bumps and what not in the road anymore. Like that?" " Like? I love it. Thank you, honey. You know, I was thinking it was either how the car rode or how thick the padding on the seats were that made me feel all those bumps. It makes more sense for it to be how the car rides, but i think we should change the seats anyways. Put some thicker covers on them, you know?" " Whatever you want, Britt. It's all about what you like. You know that, if your happy, then I'm happy." Alvin then turned to garage and looked at his own car. He then turned to the house itself. " 'sigh' yep, this is the way I like it. House real big, cars real big, everything real big." " We do own some impressive things." " I know. Just look at our house. Hard wood floors connect every single room in the house, big open deck out back, enormous swimming pool, all granite counter tops in the kitchen." " the whole house is one big jealousy magnet." "Exactly. From the front to the back, I'd like to see another munk top that." " They can try. Meanwhile, we'll be living like we're the king and queen of the neighborhood." " Yup, along with our little princess. Speaking of her, where is Liz? I haven't seen her since breakfast and that was a few hours ago." " I think she went to visit Debbie over at Dave's." "Ah, that explains it. She's been really good to Debbie." " Yeah. Say, when is Jerry going to be cleared to take care of her again?" " Whenever Charlene says so. She doesn't want him to fall off the wagon, so she won't clear him until he won't even look at a beer. And, i saw him sneak a few back on our fishing trip. So, probably not for a while still." " Oh, Okay." " Oh, here comes Liz." " hey baby, girl. How's Debbie?" " Fine." " Something wrong, honey?" " Well, i was talking with Debbie. She said that on nice days like today, she wished she had somebody she could play with all the time. You know, like a little brother or sister. She told me, she can't have one, cause her mom's dead. But, she also told me that, since I've still got both of you, I should ask for a baby brother or sister. She said " you never know when your mom and dad will be gone. Your gonna need somebody. And, a brother or sister will stick by you through that. On top of that, they make great friends from what I hear.' Now, I know all that's true, but..." " Your still not ready for the responsibility of being a big sister?" Alvin said. " It's not just that.." " Then what is it?" Brittany asked. " Come on, honey. We're your mom and dad. You can tell us anything." " Anything?" " Yeah." ' well, okay then. I'll tell you. I'm worried." " About what?" " I'm worried that, if you had another baby, you wouldn't love me as much as you do now. You'd focus all your time on the new kid and forget about me." Brittany scooped her daughter up into her arms. " Oh, baby girl, don't think like that. We'd never forget about you. And, we couldn't ever love you any less, only more. You see, Your special to us. Your our first born. We learned everything we know about taking care of kids from taking care of you." "Yeah. And, even though another baby would be a lot of work, and keep us really busy, I promise that we'd take every moment we could to be with you. But, you don't have to worry that right now. We're not even thinking about it. After all, we promised you that we wouldn't try it, until you were ready." ' And I'm still not." " And you don't have to be right now. To be perfectly honest, i really don't want another kid right now. It's too dangerous. There's too much going on. We still have to figure out who the guys leading the group are. Let's face it, none of the usual four are that bright. At least, they don't seem to be. They couldn't possibly organize themselves to do the things they do. They have to have somebody helping them from behind the scenes. And, those guys are the ones who are the real threat. You never what they'll come up with. So, we need everybody ready to go, in case they come up with something. Right now, we couldn't afford to have any of the girls, your mom or your aunts, to be up on maternity leave. Not only would it leave us understaffed, but it would also make the bulls eye on their backs even bigger. And, those targets are big enough already. We don't need that much extra worry.' " What your dad is saying, is that we're too afraid to try right now. Too scared of the possibility that those things your dad talked about could come true. So, you take all the time you need to think it over. Once all this is over, and we can finally live in peace, we'll sit down together and talk about it and decide if we really want to do it. If we all agree that it's a good idea to add another member to the family, we'll do it. If not, then that's just it goes. But, don't you ever think that we would love less than we do now, okay?" " Okay, mom." The parents hugged their daughter. " We love you, Eliza." " I love you too, mom." "Alright, let's let your father put his tools away and we'll go get lunch started, okay?" Eliza nodded in agreement. When Brittany and Eliza went inside, Alvin got into Brittany's car and drove it into the garage. Then he sat there for a moment, going over everything that he thought the group could possibly do to his family. " No, I won't let them . They will not hurt them. They can certainly try. They've got the man power and the smarts to do a lot of damage. But, they'll have to go through me to do it. And, I wouldn't make it easy for them. I'd put up the kind of fight that would make Armageddon jealous. Because Brittany, and Eliza, they're the most important thing I have. I'd gladly give up these big cars, this big house, and everything else I have, if it meant that they'd be safe. I could give it all up, give everything away. I'd even give my own life, with out a second thought. All for them. All just to keep them safe. They know I love them, but they'll never be able to understand how much." "Alvin ?" " Huh?" " What are you doing sitting in my car this long?" " Oh, I was just thinking, honey." " About what?" " What I'd like to name him." " Name who?" " Our son, if we ever have one. And, I think I got it." " Really? What name did you pick?" ' Well, I'm not really all that fond of the name Dante anymore, and you know why.' Brittany nodded. " I think now, I'd like to name him max." " Max?" " Yeah. You know, Maxwell, or whatever the long version is." " Hmm, not bad. Do i get to pick the middle name then?" " Go ahead, honey." " i like the sound of Alexander. Maxwell Alexander Seville. What do you think?" " I like it. We'll keep it the back burner, until all this mess we're in is cleared up and Liz tells us she's ready." " How do you know she won't decide against it?" " I have faith in her. I know that she's got it in her." " Yeah, Your right. I completely agree. All we have to do is be patient and wait." " Exactly."_


	90. Chapter 90

New munks

Merge on command

" Dad, are you sure this is such a good idea?" " What's the worst that could happen?" " Well, considering that this thing runs on nitroglycerin, a lot of things could happen." " Oh, you worry too much, Tom.' " Dad.." " Okay, there. If I have this measured right, this thing should either blow up right here and rocket me backwards about twenty feet, or be the biggest bang I've ever pulled off." " I'm gonna stay way back here, okay?" ' Ah, come on son, nothing is going to happen. When I make these things, I'm precise with the ingredients. Everything is in the exact amount it should be."" We should still back away a bit. You know, for safety." " Fine, whatever." Once at a safe distance away, Cash pressed a button and the rocket he had spent all morning building , fired. It exploded high in the morning sky with a bright red flash. " Cool!" Tom yelled. " And here you were scared." " yeah I know. I should know better." Tom then looked up. " Uh, dad. With a bang like that, shouldn't everything have been, like, vaporized." " In theory, yes. Why?" " Look.' A large chunk of the rocket was falling to earth. Not only that, it was on fire too. " tom, get the fire extinguisher!" " Right!" " Oh, please don't land in the tree!" Cash yelled. Cash's luck held strong and the fiery wreckage landed in the middle of the backyard. " here dad!' Tom shouted, running up with the extinguisher. Cash put out the fire. " Phew, thank god it's Friday. If Katrina was around to see that...uh, actually, I care not to think about that." " why do you keep doing this every weekend then?" " To spend time with you." " That's it?" ' Well, you enjoy it don't you?' " Well, yeah. It's cool and you make sure that it's safe. You weren't really gonna stay that close, or let me get too close, were you?" ' Of course not. I may be crazy, but I'm not that crazy. I'd never let you get close enough for you to be in danger, you know that. Besides, you know that if I let you get hurt, your mother would kill me." " Yeah. Hey, does anybody ever complain about all this?" " Not really. You got to remember, most of the neighborhood is made up of either us, or people who know us." " True. Besides, it's a free show." " Exactly." Meanwhile, Simon was watching the fun his brother and nephew were having, from his own back yard. The neighbor hood they lived was small, but allowed them to live close together. Nobody's house was outside of walking distance from the others. In fact, Alvin's house was directly across the street from Cash's, With Simon and Theodore's houses on the next block. Their were also directly across from each other. Needless to say, Simon had a fair view of the rockets Cash was firing into the morning sky. " Oh, Cash." Simon said, shaking his head. " Your going to kill yourself yet, building those things." Simon then proceeded to get zapped by the contraption( call me old fashioned, but I like that word) he was building. It was an electrical wave emitter. Simon hoped to tune it right, so that it could resonate with the same electrical signals in their brains that occurred when they entered 'merge state'. If he could just get a sample of those waves, he would tune this device to the proper wave length and then test it out. If this prototype actually worked, he would make smaller, wrist mounted devices that would send out those signals and cause them to enter merged state on command. But for now, it would just zap him if he touched the wrong wire. " Then again, I don't have room to talk. I've blown myself up with my experiments more times than I care to admit." " Simon!" Jeanette yelled, returning from her and sisters weekly trip to get their hair done together. " Coming!"

New munks

Stolen plans

In his haste to go see what his darling wife wanted, Simon had taken the device in with him, but left the plans for it laying on the back porch. A scout for the group, who was watching them at all times and reported what they were doing, quickly jumped the back fence and grabbed the plans. " Oh, I'll bet they could do something with these." The man thought, thinking about what the leaders of the group could do with the plans. He quickly took off, heading for the group's base. Once there, he dashed inside and immediately looked for one of the leaders. He found the male leader in the command room, which only he and sister were allowed inside. "What are you doing here?" The leader asked. " Forgive me sir, but I have something with me that may interest you." " Really? Well, don't just stand there in the doorway and let everybody hear, come in." The man hesitantly walked into the room. There was something about the two leaders that scared all of their employees. Although nothing ever happened to them for failing the leaders, they were constantly afraid that something would. They two just carried an air about them that suggested that, under their usually calm and all too relaxed demeanor, they were completely psychotic and capable of the kinds of things that nightmares are made of. This is why none of the henchmen would dare tell where the base was, for fearing that the leaders would find out and possibly kill them. " Here sir, look at these." the scout said, handing over the plans. " Electrical wave emitter?" " Yes, sir. I don't know what this is supposed to do exactly, but I figured that, with some clever modifications, you could use these plans to make a weapon of some kind." " hmm, yes. I agree with you. I see possibility in these. But, where did you acquire these?" " I was monitoring blue target today, and he was working on an odd device. It looked like the engine to a small car. Anyways, after a while, he went inside, and took the device with him. But, he left these plans laying on the porch outside. Curious, I hopped the fence and grabbed them. Realizing what you could do with these, I took them with me and headed here. You know the rest." " I see. Well, good work. Once today's operation, which my sister is spearheading, is complete and the money transferred here, you will get a nice reward." " Thank you sir." " Your welcome, you may leave now." " yes sir." The leader flipped a switch on the console he was sitting next to. The female leader picked up the call. " what do you want, brother?' " I was just wondering how the Franklin's are handling the operation." " Splendidly. Sean broke down the back wall of the bank, using his power up system and two large, sturdy hammer, with relative ease. And now, Naomi is making use of her superhuman speed and will have all the money out of the vault before anybody can get inside." " Good to hear. With a few more of these raids, we'll be well funded once more." " yes, and then we can move on to combat practice for them and have them steal us some top of the line weapons from a few armories." " Steal is an ugly word, sister. I prefer to use the word 'acquire'." " Okay, I'll keep that in mind. Anything else?" ' yes. It turns out that putting a scout in place to constantly monitor Simon was a good idea. The scout for today just came in and gave me so design specs for what Simon is calling an 'electrical wave emitter'. The scout and I both agree that these could be easily modified into a weapon. I like the idea of an electrical cannon. What do you think?" " I like it. And, if it is as simple as you make it sound, then Clyde should have it ready by tonight."

New munks

A new toy for Claudia

" Ah, man. I can't believe I left those plans lay out there." Simon said. After having to help Jeanette clean out their attic, which a considerable amount of time, Simon wanted to return to working on the emitter. However, when he checked where he had left the emitter itself this whole time, he did not find the plans along with it. He put two and two together, and figured that he had left the plans outside. When he looked, he couldn't find them. Jeanette surmised that a slight wind had picked up and carried them away. " I feel so stupid leaving those plans out there." " Don't beat yourself up, dear. It was mostly my fault. If I hadn't called for you to come and help me in the first place, this wouldn't have happened. I should have done it on my own." " No, no. I was happy to help. It's honestly no problem for me, Jeanette. Remember the line the reverend said to us both when we got married? " Love, honor, and obey." I'm obliged to help you when you need me, which I don't mind doing a bit, and, actually, I wish you'd ask me to more often." ' you have a point. I do seem to hurt myself more often when I do something like that on my own, than when I ask you for help. But, this time, I just can't help but feel that I should have left you alone." " Hey, hey, it's alright, okay? I have a spare copy laying around. I just feel dumb for leaving the plans outside like I did. I never forget anything. I mean, it's alright if the wind picked them up and took off with them. Most likely they'll fly into so many things that they'll be completely destroyed. Even if they did land in somebody's hands, I wrote them in a way that only I, you, or somebody who's about as smart as us can figure out. So, I doubt there would be any copy cat machines being built. But, I can't help but think about the what ifs. What if somebody form the group had got their hands on them? They could turn them into a weapon. Then we'd be in big trouble, and it would be my fault for coming up with the plans to begin with." " Maybe so, but, I think we can rest easy. Since the plans were scooped up by the wind, the likelihood that they ended up in the group's hands has become astronomically low. I doubt that we have anything that we really need to worry about. Don't you agree?" " yeah, your right. You always are." " Thank you dear. So, what do we do now?" " Well, I can use the copy of the plans I have and go get back to work. Unless, there's something else you want to do." " Nothing in particular right now. Nothing that can't wait. Although.." ' What?" " Well, I've been giving what Andrea said the other day some thought." " and?" ' Well, I think that it's too risky to have another child right now." " And I agree." " Right, but, what do you think about trying to have another after this is all over? Once we can finally live in peace?" " Well, I don't have any objections. Is that what you really want?' ' Well, when I look at one of my sisters having fun with their daughters, I get jealous." ' So, your saying that you want a daughter?" " Well, I'd like that.' " Then that's what you'll get. We'll have to talk Tony of course, but I think he'll go for it." " Thank you honey." Meanwhile. " Claudia." " Yes?" " Come up to the front." " Alright." " Here." " What is this?" ' An electricity based weapon. This baby can fire voltage so powerful, that it's visible. Think of it as a cannon that shoots lightning." " With this, you could the female equivalent of Zeus, and you could strike down the munks with elemental fury. What do you think?" " I like it. I have only one question." ' Yes?" " Is it good for only one go, or does it have a rechargeable battery?" " Definitely rechargeable. We couldn't let you play with a toy this nice just one."


	91. Chapter 91

_New munks_

_Charitable ideas_

" _Wait, Juliet! Let me do that." Eleanor said. Today was yet another dinner at Xavier's, of course by Vinny's request. She was always happy to get the family together, so they could relax, unwind and feel like they didn't have the problems that they actually did, if only for a little while. Jesse and his piece of the Talbot clan were here by accident actually. They had had dinner reservations, but the restaurant lost them. So, they had no choice but to head home. On the way back, the noticed the munks all going into Xavier's house and decided to drop in and say hello. After telling the munks about their dining issues, the munks invited to join them. Now, Juliet was helping the girls with putting the finishing touches on dinner. Kathy was sitting in the den with the kids and the guys. Of course, she was sitting as close as possible to Cash, with out being noticed. They were all watching TV. However, the guys weren't being lazy. On the contrary, they were using the TV to do research. They had fully taken the idea to open the chipmunk charities with the help of Xavier's company, Franklin Industries, to heart. The problem was, they were having a time coming with ideas for things that they could actually help with. Alvin had suggested they watch TV for some ideas. He said that was where he got a lot of his best ideas. " And some of his worst too." Simon had added. Right now, through some twist of fate, they had ended up on a channel showing old episodes of extreme makeover: home edition. The episode they were watching wasn't promising in terms of giving them charity ideas, but it did show the host cutting down a huge tree right behind the house and allowing it to fall onto the house, so that they could use it to demolish the house. " Well, now we know how to take down a house the lazy man's way." Alvin said. Jesse could pick up that the guys were looking for something, but he couldn't think of what it could possibly be. So, he asked Dave and Xavier." ' Hey, guys, what are they looking for?" Jesse asked. " Ah, you picked up on it, eh? Well, for as long as you've known them, you should have. They're looking for an idea for to start a charity with." Xavier explained. 'You mean, they've got all the problems they do now, and they're still only thinking of others?" " yup." ' They're not human, are they?' " No, Jesse, they're chipmunks. We thought you knew this by now." Dave said. " No, I mean, they normally act like any other person on the face of the earth, but, with all the problems they have, you'd think they'd think of themselves a little." " That's just the way they are, Jesse." Dave said. " actually, sometimes I think it may only be for a distraction. Something to keep their minds off their troubles." Xavier said. " Something to distract themselves from their problems, makes sense. But, I agree more with Dave. I think it's just their nature. Hmm, come to think of it. I may have an idea for them." " You say something, Jess?" Cash asked. " Yeah, actually, I did. I think I may have an idea for your charity thing." " We're listening." " Well, dad recently took Kathy and Jessica back to the orphanage, to visit some of their friends that are still there. He found out that, despite the orphan's benefit and what not, that particular orphanage hadn't had the money to have anything significant for Christmas." " Seriously?" "Seriously. Those poor kids had no Christmas." "Hmm, I see. Well, I think we could do something about that. Guys, how about we pull off a little belated Christmas miracle?" Simon asked. " Sounds like a plan." " Really?" Jesse asked. " Yup." " Okay, I've got the number, we can set it up after dinner."_

_New munks_

_A belated chipmunk Christmas_

" _Okay, guys, we've got all the toys, all wrapped up and looking pretty. Now, then, who's got the tree?" Simon asked. " Cash and Dave went out to get it." Alvin said. " Okay." " Who's gonna play Santa Claus?' Alvin asked. " That' would be me." Theodore said. He was already dressed in the Santa gear. " And, Ely, your Mrs. Claus?" " Of course." " Alright. Now, then, how do we keep the kids distracted while we set this up?" " How else? We do what we do best, sing." Cash said, coming up and lugging a large tree. " You make a good Santa Theo. Ely, looking good." " Thank you Cash." Eleanor said. ' alright then, Theodore, Eleanor, you just kind of hang out somewhere that the kids can't see you until we call for you. Cash, you, Dave, Xavier and myself will set all the presents around the tree. Everybody else, keep the kids distracted with a little miniature concert." Simon said. " right!" And so, they took off to perform their various duties. "You think the kids will be bored? I mean, we did leave them at Xavier's just like that." Eleanor asked Theodore. " I don't think so. I mean, they do have mom and Patricia around to keep them company. And, mom did ask them to come over so she could talk to them about something." " Yeah, your right. Hey, where's Andy? He's not here, and wasn't at Xavier's, so where is he?" ' I heard that he's out having a good time with girl that Geneva hooked him up with." ' You mean he's dating now?" " Hmm, well, I guess you could call it that." ' What do you mean?" ' he's not so much dating her as he is just spending time with her. Geneva told the long sad story behind this girl. Her dad's dead, her mom's in coma and all she's really got right now is Geneva. So, Geneva talked Andy into hanging out with her. Now, if that spills over into dating, well, good for them I guess. I don't know that much about dating." ' You did fine when we were dating, Theodore." Eleanor said. " I guess so." Eleanor then looked down to her Mrs. Claus outfit. She noticed a patch on it that not only came off, but looked suspiciously like a certain holiday plant. She pulled the removable patch off her dress and held it above Her and Theodore's heads. " Theodore, honey, what does that look like to you?' " Um, Mistletoe?' " Bingo.' Eleanor then kissed her husband, as the mistletoe tradition dictated. " What's with you all of a sudden, Ely?" ' I don't know. I guess doing all this has put me in the Christmas spirit again." She then kissed him again. After that, she put the mistletoe patch back where it belonged and began to laugh. " What's so funny?" ' I'm just thinking what Olivia would say if she could see us now. She'd probably start singing that song " I saw mommy kissing' Santa Claus.' just to get us to laugh." " yeah, probably." It was now that they could hear all the kids generally going nuts over the set up in the other room. ' Man, the guys work fast." Eleanor said. " Yeah." They could then here the orphan master talking. " Alright everybody. Give it up... For SANTA CLAUS!" " "That's our cue." Eleanor said. " yup." And so, they went to greet the kids. Meanwhile, back at Xavier's. " Are you sure we can hide all this until Monday, Grandma?" Eliza asked. " I'm sure we can honey." ' I take it then, that you all agree to help us with Andy's birthday party?" Patricia asked. " Of course!" " Thank you kids." " Not a problem, Patty." Andy's birthday was fast approaching. Patricia and Vinny had decided to throw him a birthday party. They would have asked the munks, but they obviously were busy. So, they asked the kids. " just be here by the time I told you on Monday." " Got it Grandma."_

_New munks_

_Tom Vs. Claudia_

' _Alright, Claudia, your all set. But, are you sure you want to do this alone?" Claus asked. ' 'sigh' You are such an agonizing worrier Claus. But, if it will make quit asking, I'll take some of the men I know you've got in the truck behind ours." ' Oh, you noticed that, did you?" " You idiot, of course I did. A big blue truck just happens to pull up behind our car? What do you think I am? A simpleton?" " No, I.. Look, Claudia. I know you don't like this fact to be brought up, but, I am your older brother. It may not be by much, but it counts. As such, I worry about you and I only want to make sure you'll be okay." " They're just children Claus." " Children who have proven, time and again, that they can be just as dangerous as their parents. Look, I hate the munks as much as you do. I'd love to see them dead, just like you. Just like all the members of the group. But, we can't keep thinking that, just because they're young, those kids are easy targets. They've changed since the first time we had them in our grasp. They've seen more since then, and it's made them grow up a bit. Now, they can obviously hold their own, a lot better than back then. And, who's to say that they don't have the ability to turn into those monster munks, just like their parents?" " You make a decent point Claus. Truth be told, this electric cannon may be powerful, but I'm still a rather lousy shot with it. But, taking pot shots at those tiresome children should improve my aim and allow me to finish off their parents later on. Think of it Claus, we do this to gain experience, and at the same time, we're torturing the munks. Then, when they return for their precious kids, they'll be so distraught over their deaths that they'll just let us kill them." Claudia then began to laugh at this thought. " My sister, has gone completely mad. I don't like the munks or their kids, but, I wouldn't dream of killing those kids. Their parents, yes. But not the kids. It would weigh on my conscious to greatly. But, what Claudia would o to me if I didn't help her do these things worries me more. 'sigh' I guess what Claudia always says is true. I am a pathetic excuse for a man." Claus thought. " uh, right. So, will you take those men? I mean, we haven't seen him yet, but what if that body guard of theirs comes back? He'll kill us." " you truly are pathetic Claus. Your scared of a man 3 years younger and about a hundred pounds smaller than you? It embarrasses me to know we're related." ' Yes, I know, Claudia. Well, if we're going to do this, I guess we might as well get on with it." " First intelligent thing you've said al night." Claudia and the men stormed the house. " Claudia!" " Surprise, kiddies!" " Oh, this is perfect! I've been wanting' to bash a couple of you group bastards heads open. Let's go!' Tom shouted, pulling out his sword, which he had brought with him. The battle between the young munks and Claudia and her henchmen seemed to be favoring the munks for some time. But, once it spilled out into the front yard, it gave Claudia ample room to use her weapon. The young munks immediately collapsed from the massive shock. " Augh, what the hell was that?" Tom asked. " An electrical blast? That weapon fires pure blasts of electricity!?" Olivia said. " Ug, I hate to say it Tom, but, if we take just one more direct shot from that thing, we're done for." Tony said. Tom then thought about what was happening. " That thing she's got fires electricity, right?" " yeah, it seems that way." " Okay, I got an idea. It's so simple a caveman could have come up with it. Helen, think you could use your power and put a barrier in front of you?" " I guess so." " Good, do it." Tom then stood up. " you want to go first? Be my guest!" Claudia then fired. Tom merely held up his sword and let the blade take the brunt of the blast. The blast stopped after a moment and Tom's sword crackled with the sound of electricity running through it. " what the? I must have missed. Take this!" Tom did the same thing. Claudia fired once more, scratching her head as to why this thing wouldn't work on something simple like a sword. " I'll bet you wanna know what's going on, right Claudia?" Tom asked. " " Yes!" " Okay, I'll tell you, but only because you asked so nicely. For starters, you are, what I like to call, an idiot." ' What!?" " Your a bad guy, er, um, girl. Me? I'm a good guy. The good guy always wins. So, there's one reason that your an idiot. The second reason is because you obviously forgot basic science. Electricity can only harm that which conducts it. So, when it hits unprotected flesh, yeah, you get the effect your looking for. But, if it hits metal, well, then it depends on whether the metal is conductive or not. The blade of my sword, by the way, is made of conductive steel." ' Then you should have been fried!" ' Well, under normal circumstances, yes. But, you just demonstrated the third reason why your an idiot. You don't listen. I said the blade of my sword is made of conductive steel, but, I never said anything about the rest of my sword. You automatically assumed that it was all metal. That's a mistake. Thanks to my training, I've learned that that jumping to conclusions is the biggest mistake you can make in a fight. And now that I've lectured you.." ' Lectured me!?" " yes, lectured you. I'm teaching you, to make you a better villain. You need to listen up if you ever want to take us on, let alone our parents. Frankly, you bore me. Your just to easy to beat anymore Claudia. So, if you bore me, I'll bet dad wouldn't even bother to mess with you." " Why you snot nosed brat!" " uh-uh. No calling the teacher names." ' Where is he getting all this from?" Olivia asked. " I think he's been hanging out with Tony and Uncle Simon to much." Helen said. " Now, then, where was I? Oh yes, I was about to tell you about my sword.' " I don't care about that! I just want you die, you little freak!" " now come on Claudia, I'm being nice enough to explain all of this to you, and you keep calling me names. Your lucky I'm such a nice person. Now, listen. My sword is made of three pieces. The blade, which is made of conductive steel, the hilt, which is made of a nonconductive metal, and the handle, which is made of wood. Neither of these conduct electricity. So what happens to the electricity from your attacks? That's a good question. You see, the electricity from your attack strikes my sword, and tries to come down it, towards me. But, when it meets the hilt and handle, it stops. It gets trapped in my sword, and waits for me to hit something conductive so that it can be released. Long story short, thanks to your attacks, my sword has just become a really sharp lightning rod!" Tom then rushed at her, dodging her attacks all the while. " Better not absorb any ore juice, or it could kill her when I hit her." Tom first leaped round the back side of Claudia, and sliced off the straps that held the cannon to Claudia's back. Then, as she reached around to grab him, he struck her and the all the pent up voltage went straight into her body. It quickly overloaded her and she collapsed. Claus darted from the truck, grabbed Claudia, and took of. The henchmen took this small distraction to leave as well. It all happened so fast, that the munks didn't know exactly what had just happened. "Uh, did they just ditch us, just because we took Claudia down? Man, whatever happened to 'it's not over until the fat lady sings?'_


	92. Chapter 92

_New munks_

_Give up_

_After returning to Xavier's, Cash and the gang were told about what happened while they were away. Simon said nothing about it, but appeared to be keenly interested in the cannon that had been left behind. He gave it the once over, examined all he could without taking it apart, and gave his verdict. " It's modified, but it follows the same principals and has a similar design to my emitter. There's no doubt about it. This is my emitter, gone horribly wrong." " You mean?" ' yeah. We were merely fooling ourselves, Jean. The wind didn't take the original plans, the group did. Somebody representing them must have spotted them and spirited them away to the group's hide out." "Then, that means that they could be watching us at any given time." Alvin said. " Yeah, I think so too. I highly doubt that some random guy from the group just happened to be in the neighborhood and then stole Simon's plans when the opportunity presented itself. I think we should all agree to go and get some improved security on our houses. Some security lights, cameras, and what not. What do you guys think?" " Sounds like a good idea." Theodore said. " Ugh, to think, they could be watching us all the time. Man, they could be watching the most private moments of lives. When we're getting dressed, taking a shower. Who knows what these perverts have seen?" Brittany said. ' I care not to think about it." Eleanor said. Alvin took patted Brittany on the back. " At least they got something good to look at." he said. " That's not all that comforting honey." " I know, but at least I'm trying. That's all we can really do now that I think about it." " I guess your right. I guess we'll have to start dressing and showering with the blinds closed." " man, this sucks." Katrina said. The family looked at her. " What? I can say stuff like that. And, it does suck. This thing is taking over lives. If they're doing this to us now, how much longer until we can't feel safe in our own homes? How long until they decided to bug our houses, and then not just see every private moment of our lives, but hear it too? Who's to say they haven't already?" ' Katrina, stop. Your scaring me." Eleanor said. " I'm sorry, but, it's possible." " We'll give the houses a once or twice over when we get home, alright? We'll check everywhere they could possibly hide one of those bugs. Then, tomorrow, we'll see about the heightened security things, okay?" " yeah." ' Alright then. Nothing else we can do except go home and try to get some rest." And so, the munks followed the plan, searched their houses top to bottom, and once they couldn't find anything, they closed the blinds and went to bed. The next day found Simon installing the new security measures that he had just bought today. While he was concentrating on what he was doing, his thoughts kept drifting back to last night. His son had been hurt by a weapon that had been made from his original plans. He thought about just giving up life as inventor all together. " All my experiments have ever done is hurt us. So few actually help us." ' Simon?" " Huh? Oh, hey Jeanette." "Why don't you come down and take a break. You've been working all morning." " yeah, okay." Simon sat down in a chair on their back porch. Jeanette handed him a cool glass of mountain dew to drink. " Thank you honey." She walked behind him and began to rub his shoulders. " When did you?" " Your not the only one who gets bored and then starts surfing the web. Now, just let me help you relax." A minute later, Jeanette had to ask. " Simon?" ' Hmm?' ' What's bothering you?" " Nothing." " Now, Simon. I wouldn't be a very good wife to you if I couldn't sense when something is wrong. And, I do. Now, tell me." " It's nothing Jeanette." " Simon." Jeanette said, giving Simon a stern look. " It's nothing, really." " Simon, do you really understand what marriage is all about?" " What?" " Marriage isn't just about living together and having children. It's about trust, love, and understanding. You know I love you. You know you can trust me. I mean, if you can't tell your own wife something in confidence, who can you tell? Sure, you could tell your brothers. You could talk to Cash, you could talk to Alvin, you could even talk to Theodore about it, but, what can they really do? Brotherly love's power has it's limits. They can't really help you with the deep, emotional stuff. They could give advice, but that's about it. But, the love between a husband and wife, the love between you and me, that love's power has no limits. You can tell me anything, and I will do everything in my power to make you feel better. You may think I won't, but I will understand. I mean, who knows you better? When we got married, we stopped living our separate lives, and became one. I know you so well because I'm a part of you, right?" " Yeah. A big, really important part." " Right. And your the same way with me. I know the real you, and you know the real me. Now, tell me what's wrong." " Well, alright." " I'm listening." " I'm thinking about giving up being an inventor." ' You can't!" " But, jean, you saw it last night. That thing was clearly based off my designs.' " Yes but.." " Let's face it. I'm a risk to the entire family. All I ever do, all I've ever done is cause trouble. I mean, who knows what'll happen next time? What if they took one of my plans with even bigger ideas on it. Who knows what they could make out of that." " Simon." " I should just take the hint and stop before I get us all killed." Jeanette had had enough. For the first time in their marriage, the first time in their entire lives, Jeanette slapped Simon. " What?" Simon asked. " I'm sorry honey, but, you need to snap out of it." " but I.." " Look, honey. What happened was a mistake, okay? Everybody makes them. Look at me. I make them all the time. It only makes you human. Okay, in our case, human like. But, it's a normal part of life. Now, admittedly, not many people have that kind of thing happen as a result of one of their mistakes, but, not many people have your intellect either. And, what the forces of evil do with something is out of your control. It always will be. If they take one of your plans, odds are, they will find a way to turn it into weapon. But, that's their doing, not yours. You can only strive to make the best device that you can. Evil will always be able to take the most pure hearted, most beneficial thing you can come up with and twist it into something that can be used against us. But, again, that's them, not you. That's their influence, not yours. But, here's an idea. If they can take something good and warp it into something bad, what's stopping you from turning the tables? Who says you can't take that thing and use it to make your original device even better?" " But how?" " Your smart dear, I'm sure you could figure it out." Well, I can think of a few ways actually." " Exactly. And, who do you think would decipher those twee-twee tablets if you gave up? No one, not even Cash, and he's almost as smart as you. But, again, note I said almost. Not to knock his skills, but only you could do as good a job as you are." ' Yeah, I know." " And one last thing. And this is the biggest reason why you can't give up of all." " I'm listening." " It's four simple letters, but they mean a lot." " Okay, what are they?" " They are T-O-N-Y." ' Tony?" ' Yes. Think about it Simon. To our son, your like Cash is to Tom. Your his hero. If you gave up, how do you think it would effect him?" ' I see. Your absolutely right. I can't give up. There's too many people counting on me. Thanks setting me straight honey.' 'Any time."_

_New munks_

_Patricia and Helen_

" _Check this out, patty!" Helen yelled. Today, the munks were going about doing what they could to insure that what happened the other could never happen again. That none of their plans, or their secrets or whatever could ever be used against them again. But, this was great and all, it left the kids with not a lot to do. So, Xavier took the older kids to the soccer field to practice their drills. They had another game coming up soon. If they won that, they'd be in the semi-finals, and then it was just a stones throw away to the title. But, this left Helen and Ben out. So, Patricia and Andy, having nothing better to do today, took them off their parents' hands and took them out to the park to have a little fun. " I'm watching dear." Helen used her telekinesis to levitate a large rock into the air and then brought it down onto her finger, where she had it spinning like an over sized basketball." How in the world are you doing that?" " I'm psychic." " Really?" ' Yup. Blame it on my Grandma Macy. She thought my mom had some psychic power, and forced it out of her through training. And, as we've found out, once psychic powers are awakened in a person, they tend to get passed on down line, and sometimes new powers get added to the list of inherited powers. Like, my mom has telepathy and mind reading. I inherited that and, as you can see, I have also added telekinesis to the list. So, my future kids will probably have that too." " I.." ' I know it doesn't make a lot of sense, but, then again, neither does a lot of things we chipmunks are capable of. We don't quite get how they work either, but we live with them and try to use them to our benefit." "Making your lives a little easier by using everything you've got.' ' That's right, you got it." ' mum, I'm gonna and go get something to drink really quick. Do you and Helen want anything?" " um, if they've got it, would you be dear and get me a can of sweet tea?" Patricia asked. " Sure thing. Any particular flavor you'd like?" " No, anything will be fine." " Okay. Nell?" " Like you need to ask?" ' Cherry Coke?" ' yup." Ben?" " Same thing." " Alright, I'll be back in a minute. Don't go wandering off. Lord knows we've had enough problems from that already." " We'll stay right here." Andy nodded and walked off. Ben began to kick the ball he had with him into the air. He'd seen Olivia try this. The idea was to keep the ball in the air by bouncing it off your knee or foot. He believed this was a soccer drill, but looked more like a game unto itself to him. " So, what else can you do Nell?" Patty asked. " Well, I've told you most of it. I guess the only other thing I've got is a skill we call ' mind break'." " Mind break?" ' It's not really a full on power, because not really refined like, say, telekinesis or something, but it' comes in handy." " What is it exactly?' " Well, basically, I take the raw psychic energy that my mind produces when I turn on my powers, and focus it on somebody. That ends up putting an invisible pressure on the 'victim's' mind, resulting in a terrible headache. I keep it up until the headache becomes so bad that it makes the person I'm using it on collapse. But, don't worry, it's not as bad as it may sound. It leaves no permanent damage and, in most cases, ends the battle pretty quickly. See? No muss, no fuss. That's why it's my go to power in most cases. It's simple and it's usually all I need. It hurts the bad guy, a lot, but it can't kill them. That's why I like it." " Your just like your father, aren't you? You have the power to kill all your enemies outright, but you choose not to. You let them live.' ' We don't believe in killing. None of us do. We believe very strongly in the commandment ' thou shall not kill."_

_New munks_

_Now it's personal_

" _Well, that son of mine sure is taking his time." Patty said. " Well, maybe there's a big line. You never know." " That's true." Meanwhile. " That her?" " Yeah. The boss said that his bosses wanted the little girl brought in. They wanna use her for something." "And that's why we have this weird collar thing?" " Yup. Apparently, she's a powerful psychic chick. This collar is supposed to shock her every time she tries to use her powers." " Well, alright, let's go. I don't feel right about kidnapping little kids, but, the sooner we do this, the sooner boss Morella pays us. By the way, where is the boss?" " Last I heard, he was out looking for some mercenary guy. Calls himself Mr. L. I hear the man's a legend in the mercenary field. Has a spotless record. Thing is, he's never killed any of his marks. He's all about live capture, using tranquilizer and such. He bags the target, and brings it to the his client. What they do then is up to them. I was told that a man that looks like him has been spotted in town." " Okay, but, why's the boss looking for him?" " The boss's bosses hired him to find Mr. L. They want to team the boss and Mr. L together for something big." ' Okay. Well, then, let's get a move on." " Right." The two men, who both worked for Grant Morella, approached Patricia and the kids. " Excuse us, ma'am?" " Yes?" " I'm sorry, but, this girl will be coming with us." " I'm sorry too, but I can't let you do that. Her parents entrusted her safety to me." " Look lady, we're not asking Give us the girl." " No!" Ben, immediately knowing that these guys were with the group somehow, tossed the ball into the air and kicked it as hard as he could in the mens' direction. It slammed into the back of one of their heads. " why you little!' He stopped. Helen had him with her mind break. However, the other man had been warned of this and captured Ben, in order to get him to yell and distract Helen. " Let me go!" Ben yelled. Helen, as planned, did hear Ben yell. She lost focus on the other man, and turned to face the man holding Ben. It was then that the other man clamped the collar onto her neck. ' What the!?" Helen shouted. Ben didn't know what the collar was for, but if they went through the trouble of putting it on Helen, then it couldn't be good. Ben struggled and struggled to get free, but the man had a firm grip on him. Out of options, Ben went with the only thing he thought would work. He tossed his head backwards, as hard as he could, into the man's stomach. The blow loosened the man's grip enough to let Ben free. Ben then whipped around, jumped up, and drove his fist into the man's jaw, then knocked him off his feet with a leg sweep. He then rushed over to help Helen. He tried to tear off the collar. The other man did nothing, as he knew what was supposed to happen next. When the collar detected that someone was trying to remove it, it set off a large electrical pulse. It knocked both kids out. When the men grabbed Helen, acting on motherly instinct alone, Patricia charged the men and fought the like the devil with her limited abilities to protect the kids. Seeing that she was attracting too much attention, the men locked Patricia in the back of the van, along with Helen. It was around this time that Andy returned. He saw them through his mother in the back. He tried to catch up to the van, but even Andy can't keep up with something with wheels and an engine. So, he got as close as he could, quickly took in the license plate number and memorized it. He then returned to Ben and roused the young munk. " Ugh.. Andy? Uh.. Helen!" " Most likely taken, along with my mum, by those guys." " I'm sorry Andy. I tried." ' I know, Ben, I know. Better call Cash."_


	93. Chapter 93

_New munks_

_Watch the bike_

_Once Cash had been called, Theodore was sent back to pick up Ben and take him home to recover. Meanwhile, Andy went off to locate the van. He managed to find it at an old, closed down club. He threw open the back doors of the van, but found no one inside. He then checked a window. Sure enough, he saw the girls, but they were surround by lots of group henchmen, clearly sent as back up. " Damn! There's so many of those guys. I could probably take quite a few, but even I'm not fool-hardy enough to try and rush in there on my own." So, he called Cash and told him the address. Cash arrived within six minutes of the call. He was riding his Harley. " you see all of them?" " yeah." ' How do we take them all?" 'Easy." " Explain." " We do something to confuse them." 'But, what do we do?' ' We do this!' Cash said, aiming his bike at makeshift ramp he had made. He then revved his bike, ran it off the ramp, and went crashing through the window with it. That, of course, immediately got everyone's attention. Cash then proceed to pop a wheelie and spun the bike's rear tire around, smacking down all the group henchmen that were surrounding him. ' where does he learn all these neat little tricks?" Andy wondered. He then jumped in to assist. Cash pointed to the office, the most likely place for the girls to kept. Andy tried it, but found it to be locked. So, Andy kicked the door as hard as he could and knocked it down. " Let's get you out of here." Andy led them out and took a safe place. He then returned to help Cash. Cash had gotten off the bike by this point and was now single handedly taking on many of the henchmen. But, it was obvious that he was growing tired quickly. Cash had not slept well the last few nights, and there were so many for him to fight. Andy took as many as he could to help Cash out as Cash's sleep deprived body gave out on him. Eventually, the group's men were all beaten, again. " Come on Cash, let's go." " yeah." They walked out, Cash towing his bike. Andy had to ask why Helen didn't use her obviously strong powers to break free. She said that she couldn't because the collar shocked her every time she tried to. " It must have a means of scanning you and finding out when your trying to use your powers. " Cash said. " And Ben told me that the collar shocked him when he tried to help remove it." Andy added. " And it repels others from removing it? God, these guys are getting annoyingly crafty." That's when they became aware of a gun shot." Ah, good. We have your attention." One of the original two kidnappers said. " now then, you can all leave, but the little girl stays." " Like Hell! I'm not leaving my own flesh and blood here with you assholes!' Cash called. " We weren't asking." The man then pointed a gun right at Cash's head. As the man pulled the trigger, Patricia charged the man, knocking him off balance and causing the bullet to fire harmlessly into the air. The other man proceeded to beat Patricia violently. ' I'm tired of you getting in our way bitch!" This sent Andy into a rage. Andy charged the man, grabbed his arm and broke it. Then he threw the man into the other. The men got up and came after Andy. Andy turned, grabbed Cash's bike, and with what seemed like super human strength, lifted it enough to quickly swing it into his attackers. " How the hell did he do that?" Cash thought. The men, seeing that Andy would kill them if they stayed, ran off. Andy calmed down a bit a he saw them run off. " And don't you ever come back, you sons of bitches!" Andy then turned to the others. " What?" He asked. " Uh, Good show Andy. But, next time, could you not use the bike?'_

_New Munks_

_Mr. L and Mike Libby_

" _God Damn that body guard!" the female leader said after they got the report. " your men are useless Grant!" ' Hey, I found the man you were looking for and I sent some of my own men out for that little stunt. I've held up my end of the bargain and then some. How is it my or m men's fault that guy showed up?" " I don't know, but it has to be somehow. Maybe you picked weaker men than what was needed." " Hey, my men are all quite capable. But, how can you prepare for or recover from somebody swinging a bloody motorcycle into you? It's not possible." " It's still your fault." " But.." " Give it up, Grant. You'll never win with her. My sister never likes to admit it when she's at fault." " Brother!" " It's true. It was your idea to kidnap that young girl, Helen, and try to use her prodigious powers to our own ends. You should have known that, one way or another, Cash and friends were going rescue her." " Whatever." " Well, anyways, what's done is done. Grant, go ahead and get some rest. We have other work to do." " yes sir." When Grant left the room. " Why did you do that, Brother?" " What? It was all your idea. We maybe 'villains', but it's still not fair to pass blame onto some else. We never blamed some one else for the things we did back then, and we shouldn't now." " 'sigh' you have a point. But, please don't embarrass me like that again." " Fair enough. I apologize, sister." " Apology accepted. But, you know, we really should do something about that body guard. He's becoming as annoying as the munks." " Agreed. What do you have in mind?" " Well, why not try doing something to take him out of the picture?" " Like what?" ' Well, we don't want to kill. It would draw too much attention to us. But, we could do something to distract him, keep him away from our endeavors for a while." " Like what?" " Well, how about we poison him?" " Poison?" " yes. A very slow acting poison. Something to make him tremendously sick for a while." Hmm, yes, I see. We won't kill him, but, if we made him sick, then he would be out of our hair for a while. And, if we're lucky, the munks would be distracted by this a well. It's a win-win situation." "So, you agree?" " Yes. That's what we'll do. But, how do we administer it?" " I say we just shoot him with it. We do have L now after all." " Hmm, yes. The direct route. Usually it's the best way. And, L is a great marksmen. Alright, that's what we'll do. But, first, how is L?" " Well, as it turns out, Mr. L, a.k.a Mike Libby, suffers from split personality disorder." " Are you serious?" ' Yes. As it turns out, though Mike himself is responsible for his becoming a mercenary, his Mr. L persona was developed so that he could handle the 'rougher' jobs. The kind who's consequences weigh heavily on your mind."' A means to protect his sanity in rough world of the mercenary, makes sense. I'd probably do the same thing." " Says the man who made Clyde build a live uranium bomb for the sake of our plan." ' Whatever. Well, shall we call L?" " Yes. Lets." Later on. " I see. You want me to take Andy out of the picture for a while?" " yes Mike. Can you do it?' " L can. I've become too much like my father. I've tried to break loose, but I've fallen victim to drugs use, same as my blasted father did. I hate that I need them, but I can't help myself. But, L isn't affected. He can do it. My hands are too shaky, but L's ideal for the job." " So, L isn't just for carrying out the rougher missions anymore. You use that persona to do all your missions now." " Yes, unfortunately." " Well, I'm sorry Mike, but we really don't have time for this. Hop to it." " Yes, ma'am."_

_New munks_

_Race to China town_

" _So, Mum, I have the day off, thanks in no small part to yesterday. But, that's beside the point. Today is all about what you want to do. So, what would you like us to do today?" " Well, I could use some new clothes. Perhaps we could go to that new clothing store they opened in the mall?" " The clothing store? Well, not exactly what I'd like to do, but, like I said, today's all about what you want. Let's go." Patricia didn't quite get why Andy was focusing all his attention her on his day off. She thought that he should be at home, resting or something. But, she also wasn't one to pass an opportunity to spend what she believed to be quality time with her son. Later on, Andy sat in the food court, close to the store, while his mother shopped. He was mulling over the taste of his cappuccino. He had never had one until now. " What do folks in the states see in these things? It's alright, but nothing to write home about. I mean, what's wrong with good, old fashion coffee? Well, I guess somebody must like it, or else that star bucks place would have gone out of business years ago. But, as for me, I think I'll stick to good old regular coffee." he then threw the cup in the trash and went to check on his mother. She just so happened to be coming out of the store at the same time. " Are you done, mum?" ' Yes. I got a few nice things. I even bought Helen a new dress. It was on sale, it looks cute, and she deserves it after yesterday." " You've got no argument from me. I think all the kids deserve a little something now and then. Something nice to brighten an other wise dark world, where everyone and their grandmother seems to be out to get them." ' That's exactly what I was thinking. Well, shall we go home?" " Yeah, let's go.' As they walked out, a certain some one was watching. "Alright. Now, just aim and.." L's hand began to shake. " Damn it, mike, why did you have to take those pills just before you let me take over?" Though he wasn't effected mentally, Mr. L would still suffer the physical effects of Mike's drug abuse from time to time. It hardly ever threw him off his game, just gave him a slight case of the shakes. But, today Mike had taken more pills than ever before, so the shaking was far stronger. Strong enough to mess with L. So, L took a pill of his own. It was a special drug, known as pentazemin. It was generally issued to soldiers during war time. It was to control the shaking of their hands, when the stress of their situation got to them and interfered with their aiming ability. L knew this would help calm the shaking. But, he also knew that it was only a temporary fix. Sooner or later, the shaking would come back. And, considering how many of those pills Mike had taken, L figured it was going to be sooner, rather than later. So, he figured he only had this one opportunity and he was going to make the most of it. L aimed and fired. Andy however, just happened to be turning around at the time and the dart with the poison in it just barely missed him. It did, however, hit Patricia. " Mum!' The poison was strong . It started working immediately. Patricia became violently ill. Andy would have gone after whoever did this, but he knew that his mother was more important. He also knew that he couldn't take her to the hospital, because he could never explain this. So, he rushed her back to Xavier's and called Simon. Simon came over, took a blood sample and diagnosed her. " I'm no doctor, but I'm sure, Patty's been poisoned!" " Poisoned!?" ' Don't get all upset Andy, cause we're in luck. Macy, Kate's first human mother, was a doctor. She could tell you the composition of any poison. She also knew old Chinese remedies to pretty much anything. If she passed that knowledge on to Kate, maybe she can help us." " Then hurry up and call her!" " Right!' And Simon did just that. As soon as she arrived, Andy gave a quick run down of what had happened. " Okay. Simon, can you get me a list of the active ingredients in this poison?" " Uh yeah. Just a second.. okay, there you go." " Oh, this is not good." " What is it?" " It looks like a poison that translates from Chinese as ' the bane of good health'. It was a potent toxin made from a rare, but highly poisonous plant. It doesn't have the strength to kill, but it will make the victim violently ill. But, that doesn't mean that we shouldn't fear for Patricia's life." " Why?" Andy begged to know. " Because, this causes a lot of vomiting, and a wide-spread pain that covers the whole body. Most people can't take it and pass out. That, however, doesn't stop the, well, puking. They still throw up, even after they lose consciousness. Some even die of asphyxiation because of it. In short, they loose consciousness and choke to death on their own vomit. A disgusting and horrible way to go. But, despite all that, there is a bright side." " What bright side? How could there be a bright side to that?" Andy asked. " Well, the toxin will work it's way out of the body eventually, if the person is kept from lying on their back. But, there's something even better. There's a cure." " That's great!" " yes it is. And, we're in luck. There's a store in town that sells exactly what I need to make the antidote. But, it's on the other side of town." " So what!? We'll race over there, you get what we need and then we'll come back and cure mom." "But, Andy. What if that person that did this to her, tries again with us?" " That's what I'll be there for Kate. I'll protect you and keep an eye out for myself too. Besides, Mum needs us to do this!" " Yeah, your right. We can't think about ourselves at a time like this. Cash sure wouldn't . Alright, let's go. Come what may, we're curing Patricia within the hour!' Katrina promised. " Then let's go!" 'Vinny?" " Yes, honey?" " I want you and Xavier to make sure that she doesn't lay on her back at any time." " Got it." " And Simon, I want you to call Cash and the others and warn them. We can't be sure whether this is just some random psycho, cause we do get them in this city from time to time, or the group that did this. We can't be too careful. If you want, you can have everybody come over and see what they can do to help." " I understand, Kate. Now you two get going." " Let's go Andy! We'll take my car." Vinny stood and watched Katrina leave for only a second. " Simon, where did that side of Katrina come from? I've never seen her act like that before." " She's Cash's wife, mom. What do you expect?" " That must be it. It makes sense for her to act as a leader when called on, because that's what Cash does. I'm proud of her, I truly am." " Yeah, me too, but we got a lot work to do right now, mom." " right." Meanwhile Katrina had reached the store. " Let's see. I need two of these, and six of these, and just one of these to prepare the antidote. Alright, let's go." As quickly as they had left for that little shop in China town, they returned. Katrina returned to find that Jeanette was doing all she could with her own normal medical knowledge to help. Cash and his brothers had gone out to make a quick sweep of the neighborhood, to make sure that this mystery sniper wasn't lurking nearby. Eleanor and her kids were making a hearty soup to give to Patty, to get her strength up after she stopped vomiting. Helen was helping to make Jeanette's job a little easier, by using her powers to sooth Patricia somewhat. Brittany was leading the other kids in prayer. Katrina then got straight to work. She made and then administered the remedy. " Okay, this'll taste probably taste really bad, but it'll do the trick." Patricia took it and quickly showed signs that she was getting better. " Okay, just let her rest for now."_


	94. Chapter 94

_New munks_

_Leader_

" _God damn it!" Alvin said. " This completely sucks. We scooped out the entire neighborhood and checked out the mall parking lot. And we got nothing!" " Lower your voice a few decibels, Alvin." Simon complained. " Why should I?" " Because Patty's trying to recuperate in the other room, and I don't think that your screaming is going to help her get any better, any faster." " 'sigh' I need to kill something. X, is your game room still working?' " Yes, why?' ' Because I'm going to need to do some heavy duty gaming to work all this frustration off. I think killing about a dozen hordes of aliens and zombies will make me feel better." " It's all yours Alvin. Have at them." " Thanks." " Man, I agree with Alvin. This does suck." Theodore said. " Thank God Kate was around to help is all I can say." Simon said. " Yeah. Who knew she'd take the leadership role so easily?" " Well, she is Cash's wife. What do you expect?" " You've got a point, Simon. Man, I hate to think where we'd be in this situation if we didn't have them around to guide us." " Dead probably." " What?" " I think that we'd be dead. We'd have no clue how to handle all this. So, I think we'd be dead. Actually, I think we would have been dead a long time ago, if we didn't have them around." " Good lord, Simon. Cash and Alvin are right. You are a pessimist." " And you think that looking on the bright side of everything is better?" " Of course." " Theodore, your my brother and a great friend, but you are still way too naive." " And I think you should try looking on the bright side for a change. Take it as brotherly and friendly advice." " I think you should listen to me. I am the older brother." " By one minute." " Now you sound like Alvin." " So what? Just because I'm the youngest, that means that you don't have to listen to me?" " I'm just trying to look out for my little brother." " And I appreciate that Sy, I really do. But, we're not little kids any more. We're grown munks. I don't need to be looked after by my big brothers anymore. I mean, I've taken on as many bad guys as you have." " yes but, you should still listen to me." " I don't have too." ' You should." ' Shut up, both of you!" Cash yelled. " Your both right, alright? Sy, you should lighten up on Theo. He can handle himself. And, you should try to look on the bright side once in a while. I mean, look. You've still got Jean and Tony, happy and healthy. Be thankful for that. And Theodore, you should start acting older than you are. If you want to be treated like the adult you are, act like it. Things aren't like they were when we were kids. You can't look at the world as all happy go lucky all the time either. Just try to balance it okay? Look on the brighter side when things are looking up, but be serious when the need calls for it, got it?" The other munks nodded. " Good. Besides, we can't be fighting each other at a time like this. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go get us some Chinese for dinner." " And that's why he's leader. He's the only one who can talk to us like that. He's the only one who can keep us in line like that." Theodore said. " Yeah, and he does have a point. I should start treating you like an adult. Your not the same little kid that needed me and Alvin to look out for him all the time. And, he was also right about looking on the bright side. I do have Jean and Tony, and their both safe. I should be thankful for that. I apologize Theo." " Don't sweat it, Simon. You guys were right too. I am little naive. I should start acting older. And, I should be a little more serious. I do believe that everything will work out eventually, but in the meantime, we have to hunker down and get ready for anything."_

_New munks_

_All for one_

_After about twenty minutes, Cash had returned with dinner and Alvin was done killing every alien and zombie that the games had to offer, a total that equaled close to two hundred thousand. Now, the munks sat next to their respective wives and kids, eating with minimal conversation. Andy sat and ate, while periodically feeding his mother some of the soup that Eleanor and kids had made for her. After a time, Andy excused himself into the kitchen. A moment later, they heard the loudest burst of cursing any of them had ever heard. It made the mother munks instinctively cover their children's ears. Cash and his brothers decided to go check on him. " You okay, Andy?" Theodore asked. " Hell no, I'm not okay! My mother, she could have been killed.' " It was only a toxin that was designed to make the victim sick, Andy. It wasn't supposed to kill." Simon said. " yes, but what if it was the traditional poison? What if it was the kind that was supposed to kill?" " Uh, well.." " Forget it, you guys don't understand. You've got your mother, and all the rest of your family. Mum and I only have each other, for our direct family anyways." ' Andy, just because we've got a larger group of people to surround us than you do, doesn't mean that we don't understand. Remember, we've lost our father too. If you cut everybody out of the picture, our mom's only got us, and we've only got her." Cash said. " But you have Dave." " Yes, and while we care a lot about our adoptive father, he's not our birth father is he? Nothing can replace him, I mean, the man raised us, but he's not our birth father. We're, well, bastards just like you. We have no birth father." Cash continued. " And, don't forget, Andy, our dad died before we were even born. Yours hung around for a long time." Alvin added. " You've got a point. I should be thankful for all I have. But, I just wish that I could have been me instead. My mum's all the family I've really got." " What? We don't count?" " Huh? Brittany? Katrina?" " Don't forget Eleanor and Jeanette." " Okay, uh, what were you saying?' ' I asked if we count or not? You don't consider us close enough to be family?" " No, it's just that.." " What? Just because we're not blood relation, we can't be family? Well, let me tell you something Andy." " What?" " Despite what you think of us, we consider you, and Patricia of course, family. To us, your just like Larry and Raya, or Jesse and Juliet, or, well, take your pick. There's a lot to choose from. Heck, we don't even use the term 'in-laws'. Like, to me, Cash, Simon and Theodore aren't my brother in laws, they're my brothers, plain and simple. Alvin sees my sisters the same way. They're his sisters, not his sister-in-laws. We all feel that way. You see, to us, blood ties don't really mean that much. Blood related family is important, don't get me wrong, but, the way we see it, family isn't just about who you share the same blood with. It's about who you care about, who you're really close to. Close friends could consider each other family, take Jason and Heather. They think of us as family. My point is, just because Patricia is your only blood relative here, that doesn't mean that she's all the family you've got, understand? We're your family, got it?" " Yes, ma'am." " Well then, shall we tell him the official Seville family motto then?" Eleanor asked. " yeah, put'em in guys." Cash said, sticking his hand out. The others layered their hands on top of cash's. ' Come on Andy, yours goes right on top.' Andy placed his left hand, with the ring no longer cover, but proudly displayed, on top of the pile. " Okay, our motto is 'all for one.." " And one for all!"_

_New munks_

_The key to her salvation_

_That night, Andy went to bed, thinking over what Brittany had told him earlier. " They consider me family... Well, I do understand the feeling. But, the only one I've ever considered that close to me was....was Kirsty. That's why I still wear this ring. She's my wife after all, wedding or no, dead or not. I still love her. I always will." He quietly checked in on his mother in her room. Even though she was still quite weak from the poison, she still saying her nightly prayers. And, she wasn't praying for herself. ' Please, dear lord god, go with the munks. They are wonderful people and deserve your protection. They have welcomed us into their family with welcome arms, and as their relative, I now ask you to protect them. I also ask that you go with all their family. That includes those darling kids of theirs, Dave, Ms. Miller, and of course Vinny and Xavier. Oh! And all the members of what they call their ' extended family'. They are truly righteous people and deserve your protection more than anybody I've ever seen. So, I humbly ask that you go with and protect them all. Most of all, I ask that you go with my son, Adrian. His birthday is tomorrow, as I'm sure your aware. I ask that, despite what has happened today, you give me and the others the strength to give him the best birthday he's had yet. I ask all this in your holiest name, amen." She then took out her favorite picture, that of her husband, and looked up. " Hey, George. It's me again. Ha-ha, but I guess you knew that already, huh? Well, our son's birthday is coming tomorrow. I wish you could be here for it. But, I guess that you are, in a way. After all, I know you became my guardian angel after you died. So, I guess that, if your right here, hovering behind me, you kinda will be there. Just please, I beg you, help me get what needs to be done for his birthday done. I love you George, and I always will. Good night.' She then put away the picture and went to sleep. Andy returned to his own room. He sat on the bed, thinking. " Mum knows that dad's her guardian angel? She sounded so sure, so it must be true. I wonder who mine is? Well, no time to worry about all that, I guess." He glanced at the clock. " Eleven fifty. Ten minutes until the last day of February, and my birthday. Happy birthday to me, I guess. I really wish you were here to celebrate it with me, Kirsty." Andy said, rubbing the ring on his hand. He then tried to go to sleep. Around the middle of the night. " Andy." " Huh?" " Andy." " Who's there?" " Don't tell me that you don't recognize my voice, Andy." " It can't be.. Kirsty?!" An image of Kirsty appeared. ' That's right, my dear. I heard that you accepted my offer, even though you had a little help in figuring out that there even was an offer. But thank you anyways." " It's no problem, Kirsty. I love you. If you could have only told me, we could have been married officially.' " Yes but, we are close enough to know that it doesn't matter. We are tied together, as husband and wife, no matter what. But, though I wish I could spend more time with you, talking these things over, I must hurry and tell you what I came for." " Okay, I understand. Go ahead." " First, know that, while this is a dream, it is also very real. My spirit is actually inside your mind." " okay." " Secondly, I want you to know that I am your guardian angel, much the same as your father is to your mum." " But, how can you be an angel, you.." " I'm getting to that, honey. You see, your my ticket into the pearly gates. You see, the lord knows that my suicide was not by my hand alone. The devil had something against me, I'm not quite sure what. I was told that I was so full of light that it made him hate me. So, when he saw the chance to smother that light, he took it. He started filling my mind with darkness, driving me into the depression that ended up destroying me. So, with this knowledge, the good lord, in his infinite knowledge, made me a deal. He's giving me a second chance. You see how I only have on wing?' " yes. And, it seems that you've got a little stub, half a wing really, on the other side." " That's exactly what I'm getting at. This was the deal. I could chose to let my soul be corrupted permanently by the devil's evil darkness, or do as God tells me and try to redeem myself." " How?' ' He made me your guardian angel, that's how. You see, he knew that, when I asked you to live my dream, alongside yours, he knew that was my soul, trying to break through the darkness. It wasn't enough to save me, but it was enough to get me noticed by the almighty. So he told me that, if I protected you as your guardian angel, and guided you through all your various good deeds, I could earn my wings. By protecting you as you made the sacrifices that you have already made, and those that your still going too, I can earn my wings, be completely forgiven of my crimes, and by allowed into heaven, where I will wait for you." " So, by working together, we can save your soul?" " yes, by you doing all the good that you can, and me watching over you, I'll be spared from the pit and be allowed to walk on those golden streets, alongside you." " I see.' " Please Andy. I don't want to be forever tormented by the flames, I want to walk the length of the promised land, hand in hand with you. We could even be married in front of the throne of God himself if you'd like. But, I need you to agree to this." " Who said I wasn't going too?" " Huh?" " Kirsty, you didn't even need to ask me would I do this for you. Of course I will, you didn't even need to ask. I love you. Your the only girl I ever wanted, and I want to be with up there with you some day too. So of course I'll do it. It would be my greatest honor. I'll do as much good as I possibly can, while you protect me. We'll earn your other wing, I promise." Kirtsty's spirit began to tear up. " thank you Andy." "like I said, not a problem." Kirsty temporarily vanished. She reappeared a moment later. " Well, that took about ten minutes. I'm sorry, Andy, but, I've used all my time. I don't really want to go, believe me, but, know that I'm always with you, and I'll give everything that I have to keep you safe. Make sure that you take care of those nice little kids. I've fallen in love with them too. I can see myself as their mother. Yes, I've heard that thought of yours. So, do me a favor, and just pretend they are ours and give your all to protect them." " I will." " Thank you. Well, I'd better get going. Oh, but, before I forget, I should give you your birthday present from me." Kirsty's spirit then kissed Andy. " Happy birthday, Andy. I love you." She then kissed him again and disappeared. " I love you too." Andy said. He then woke up. He glanced at the clock. " Two minutes after twelve. It's officially my birthday." Andy could feel Kirtsy's present. There was no doubt in his mind, that was all real. " The guys will never believe me, but I know it was real. Don't you worry, Kirsty. I'll help you gain your wings. You just be patient." Then, he went back to sleep, his mind playing his fondest memories of Kirsty. The next day, everyone gathered to celebrate his nineteenth birthday. He told them what happened last night. " Sounds like that old Tom and Jerry cartoon, where Tom needed Jerry to forgive him in order for him to get into cat heaven." Alvin said. 'But, I swear it's all true. Guys, in the dream, no, vision, Kirsty kissed me. And when I woke up, I could feel it. I tell you, there's no doubt, that kiss and that visit, it was all real. " Well, then, looks like we've got our work cut out for us." Cash said. ' Us?" ' yeah, we're gonna help you. Remember, all for one and one for all."_


	95. Chapter 95

New munks

Christine

After the excitement of Patricia's poisoning had wound down after two days, life was back to being as normal as it possibly could be for the munks. They didn't let the threat of this mystery sniper stop them from leading their lives. Today, Cash was visiting Jerry at the label. Helen and Tom were playing with Debbie, who Cash had brought to visit. " Debbie! Don't go to far, okay? They're making some repairs around the corner. Don't want you to run into all that mess and get hurt." " Okay, Daddy." " 'sigh' who'd have thunk it Cash?" ' What?' " That we, the two guys that lots of people called the trouble twins, would grow up to be successful dads? Well, at least one of us is a successful dad." " Hey, your trying to get better for her sake. That makes you a good dad too." ' Yeah, I guess your right. Thanks buddy." " No problem... Hey, remember when we were called the trouble quadruplets?" " ha-ha, oh god yes! That's when those two girls, Christine and Kelly, were hanging out with us." " Yup. You know, Kelly hung out us because she had a crush on you. Christine was only around because her sister was." " False." ' What?" " Christine hung around cause of you. She had a crush on you." " Seriously?' " Oh, yeah, huge! Huge crush! God, I think even back then she was planning to marry you and have your baby, although a chipmunk/human hybrid would be weird." " You've got to be kidding me." " Nope. God, when you were gone, like on vacation or something, she wouldn't shut up. I remember a couple of times you went to Japan. You said you'd be gone for a week. Everyday for the week you were gone, it was the same thing." Is cash back yet? Tell me Jerry, is he back yet?' and when I'd tell her no, she'd say ' oh, I wish he'd hurry back. I miss him. I can't wait for him to get back' and blah blah blah. Every, single, day. I was like ' if he said he's gonna be gone a week, he's going to be gone a week. For god's sake, Chrissie, leave the guy alone for a while." "Wow, a whole lotta stuff just made sense. Wow, I'm dense. And now that I think about it, she was being blatantly obvious wasn't she?" " yup. we had some good times with those girls. Remember the time we played Santa Claus for those little kids?" " Oh, the kids who's dad lost his job just before Christmas and couldn't afford presents?' ' Right. Remember, we got them some cheap, but appreciable toys, and then snuck in through a window and loaded the stockings and put some more under the tree, and then got back out. I still can't believe that that went so smoothly, that we didn't wake anybody up." Well, you three made great look outs. And, those kids woke up happy. They couldn't stop talking about it at school when we came back to school remember?" " Oh yeah, you put the belief in Santa Claus in them for life." " I try." " And you drag your friends along." " Hey, you were all for the idea too." " I can't deny that. Yup, those were good times. It was to bad about Kelly though." " Yeah. I mean, forced to leave your best friends like that." " Well, they didn't have a choice. I think Kelly had ocular cancer or something, and if they didn't move somewhere closer to where she could get treated, she'd go blind." " yeah, that did suck." " You know I still talk to them?" " No, I'm not like Kate, I'm not psychic." " Well, I do. They're moving back. Kelly and Chrissie both. Kelly's taking a job as the principal for a local school for the blind and Chrissie's gonna be her secretary." " Cool. Let me know when they get back, and we'll all get together." ' Alright. Well, looks like the kids are ready." " yeah. I'll take Debbie back to Dave's. See ya later."

New munks

Yakuza

Cash returned home. " Oh, hey honey." ' Hey baby." ' You have a phone call." " Who from?" " Kimiko." " oh, I was wondering when I was going to hear from her." ' I told her you'd call back as soon as you got back." " Okay, I'll go take care of it." " oh, what do you want for dinner?" " Whatever is good for me. Ask the kids. Whatever they decide is good enough for me." 'Okay, dear." Cash went into his study and called Kimiko. " Hello." " Kimiko?" " No, it's me, Rena, 'uncle' Cash." ' Rena!? Wow, you sound more and more like your mother every time I talk to you. I bet your just as pretty too." " 'giggle' Why thank you uncle Cash. So, you wanna talk to mom?" " Well she did call us." " Okay, here mom." " Hey Cash." " What's the matter Kimiko? You sound like your dog just died or something." " I wish it was as simple as that." " Well, tell me what's wrong then." " I don't know where to start." " The beginning always good. Or, you could just ramble and I'll piece it together. Either way is good for me." " You sound like Grandpa Agito. He said stuff like too.' ' Yeah, I know. Now go ahead and start. Tell me what's wrong." " Well, it all started shortly after new years. Our worst fears were confirmed, the plant Rai works at was going under. They tried and tried, but they couldn't find any means to keep the plant going. So, with all their options spent, they turned to worst possible, but only available choice. They turned, to the yakuza." " They asked the yakuza for help!? Man, that's just asking for trouble. That's like giving Charles Manson a key to your house. It's just plain stupid." " yeah, I know. But, it looked like the only option they had." " Okay, I know there's gotta be more to this, keep going." " Okay. Well, the yakuza gave them the money they needed to keep the plant a float, and they vowed to pay back the debt as soon as they could." " And?" " Well, that's where the problems really started. You see, they paid the yakuza back weeks ago. But, the trouble didn't stop back then." "What happened next then?" " Well, the way the yakuza see it, despite the fact that they paid the debt back already, the factory as a whole, meaning all the workers too, owe them. A favor for a favor, and they intend to collect. They've asked the factory as a whole to come together for foul purpose knocking off a few key members of a rival group. Apparently, this rival group's territory is prime real state for the yakuza, and this group that we're dealing wants it." " Well, why don't they just go and take it, and the factory workers alone?' " That's just it. They've tried that. I guess it didn't go too well. And, what I heard, thanks to that incident, the rival group knows the names, faces, and even voices of this group. So, they can't make a move with out rival group bringing the hammer down on them." " I see. So, they aren't just trying to force the factory workers to do their dirty work, they're planning to use them as scape goats too. Send them in like lambs to the slaughter." " That's exactly what I was thinking. Use the workers as human shields, to protect themselves against any kind of retaliation." " Have the factory workers agreed to this?" " of course not1 They're all good men and women. They're standing they're ground. They refuse to do it. And that makes the yakuza angry. Cash, they've attacked at least six factory workers already. They beat most them pretty badly, three they cut some fingers off of, and one they outright killed. People are getting scared and are leaving, fleeing for their lives! Oh sure, a few brave souls are sticking out to the end, but many more are leaving. If too many more leave, they'll have to close the plant. But, Rai losing his job isn't what scares me." " Then what is it?" ' Rai is one of those brave souls who won't leave. I've begged and pleaded, even gotten down on my knees, but he won't listen. I even tried bribing him with everything I know he likes. Everything! And still, he won't listen. It seems like I'm the only one who's afraid for his life. He keeps saying ' I've been there practically since the thing opened, I can't walk away. It wouldn't be right.' He's made up his mind to stay, and I can't talk him out of it. I'm at my wits end, Cash. I just don't know what to do. I'm so afraid that he'll be next. Next to be attacked, next to be beaten, next to get his fingers chopped off, or worse.... No, I can't bear to think about it. I just don't know what to do, Cash." ' Okay, here's what we're going to do. Your going to keep him away from that factory, anyway you can. I think you'll agree, the more time he spends around that factory, the more likely it is that he'll get noticed by those yakuza and God only knows what happen. I don't care how you do it, handcuff him to something if you have to. Tie him down to the floor if need be. Just keep him away from that factory. I, meanwhile, will call Xavier, get our private jet ready, and be there as soon as I can.' " No, Cash. You can't put yourself in danger." " Kimiko, we both know that you wouldn't have called me and told me about this if you didn't want my help." ' But, you've got Kate and the kids. They need you." " Don't worry about us." ' huh? Katrina?" Cash asked. ' I'm sorry for eavesdropping honey, but, I couldn't help it when I heard you talking about the Yakuza. Listen Kimiko, your getting Cash's help, like it or not." " But Katrina.." " Listen Kimiko.. Cash could you hang up for a quick second, dear? I wanna talk to Kimiko in private. You know, just us. Woman to woman." " Alright. Let me know when your done, okay?" " Okay. Now, Kimiko..." " Katrina, I can't let you let Cash come." " Kimiko, we both know Cash like the back of our hands, and you know me pretty well. You know that both of us can't just sit back and do nothing at a time like this. And, we also know that I couldn't stop Cash, even if I wanted to. He'd go anyways. Besides, compared to what we deal with, these guys are nothing. Yes, the yakuza is dangerous, but, they're only human, Nothing like what we deal with. When they have a cannon or something to point at Cash, then I'll be scared. But, with just guns and swords, there's nothing to worry about. If they came at him like that, Cash would turn them into mince meat in a heart beat. But, just to be on the safe side, I'll ask Andy, the kids body guard, to come with him. You'll see, Andy's very capable. With the two of them together, those yakuza don't stand a chance." " But what about the kids?" " That's why I'll be staying. If the group makes a move or something while Cash is gone, the kids will need me. So, I'll stay to protect them, just in case. But, I don't think it'll take them long to take care of this. So, how bout it?" " your serious.." " As a heart attack." " Well, okay then 'sob' Thank you Kate." " No problem. I mean, what's family for?" " your right. I love you, Katrina." " And we all love you. So don't worry, Okay? Cash and Andy will be there real soon." " Okay. Well, I've got to go. Tell Cash bye, and thanks." " Sure thing." Meanwhile. Ring. " Hello?' " Cash it's me." " Ken? How'd you get the number for our extra line?' ' It's in the phone book Cash." " Oh, right.' " You talk to Kimiko yet?' " She call you too?' ' Yeah. Ever since I turned over my new leaf, I've been talking with her a lot." " I see." " Well then, I know I probably don't need to ask, but, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" " Go to Japan and save the day?" "Oh yeah." " Yup, we're on the same page then." " Alright then. You got a plane right?' ' Yup." " How soon can we go?" " I'll call X right now. If all goes as planned, we can leave tomorrow morning. Better go pack your things."


	96. Chapter 96

New munks

All about honor

" 'groan'" Andy let out. " What's the matter Andy?" Cash asked. The two of them, a long with Ken, were on board the chipmunks private jet. Andy and Cash sat across from Ken. The whole flight, Andy had been keeping an eye on Ken. " I don't trust him Cash." " Who? Ken? He's alright. He's one of the good guys now." " Cash, that man's tried to kill you on several different occasions in the past! And now he's riding in your band's plane, and is sitting just three feet away from you! How can you be so non-chalant about this!?" " Because, despite what he's done, I believe him when he said he's turned over a new leaf. Everybody has the ability to change, Andy. Look at me. Used to be, I'd get angry and I'd hulk out into crazy, kill-happy version of myself. Now, more recently I've found that I can combine my normal mentality with my crazy, murderous wild mentality and become really strong because of it. If someone like me can go through such radical changes, why not Ken?" " Hmph, I still don't trust him as far as I can throw him.." " 'sigh' whatever. I've got bigger things to worry about than whether you two like each other or not." " Speaking of that, do you have a plan Cash?" Ken asked. " He wasn't talking to you." " Andy, calm down. It's a legitimate question." Andy calmed down, but grumbled something about Ken under his breath. " Well?" Ken pushed. " Yes, ken. I've got a plan." " Well let's hear it." Andy said. " What are you going to do?" Ken asked. " My plan is very simple, but also very effective. When we get there, we'll ask Kimiko some questions, find out where these yakuza guys usually hang out, go there, and then I'll challenge their head honcho to an honor duel." " Honor duel?" Andy asked. " You don't know anything, do you?" Ken asked. " Shut up!" " Cool it, Guys! We're all in this together, okay? So no biting each other's heads off." The other two men settled down a bit. " Okay, explain this honor duel thing to me." Andy said. " Alright. Well, for starters, do you understand bushido?" Cash asked. " I have a vague concept of it, but go ahead and explain it to me." " Alright. Basically, bushido is an honor code. A code of ethics. A set of rules for the way samurai are supposed to live their lives. All samurai, no matter how bad they are, follow bushido to some degree. You follow so far?" ' Yeah." " cool. Alright, then we can move on. Now, samurai are all about honor, thanks primarily to bushido and their own desires. Now, when two samurai meet, they can challenge each other to duel. They can challenge each other to some other kind of contest, but it's usually a duel." " Okay. Go on." " Well, when a challenge is issued, there are really only two options. The samurai receiving the challenge can either back down or accept. There are pros and cons to both. If he declines, he spares himself the fight, but also might wind up looking like a coward, and thus lose his honor. If he accepts, he looks more courageous, and gets some more respect, but also runs the risk of being killed in the fight. Usually the challenge is usually accepted, if for no other reason than saving face. The two square off and one will eventually come out the victor. At this point, the winner has two options. He can either kill his opponent, or be merciful and let him go. If the winner spares him, the loser is obliged to follow any demands the winner has. For me, I'll have the leader of this yakuza group swear on his life, honor and family if need be, that he will command his group to leave the factory, workers included, alone forever. And, they will have to follow this promise, or risk losing their reputations and then who knows what'll happen."

New munks

Yakuza boss

Shortly after arriving, Cash was told by Kimiko where this group usually hung out, as Rai had foolishly followed them one time. Rai told them about how many there might be. Taking this into consideration, and the fact that people like Yakuza, though they followed bushido to some degree, were also unpredictable. Which meant, even if he won, there was no telling what they could do. He feared that they may just chase them, and if they followed them back tot he ikebana homestead, Kimiko and family could be in danger. So, just as a precaution, Cash left Ken there, saying that since Ken was the biggest, and thus strongest, it made him the prime candidate. But, Cash later told Andy that he was the only one of the two that he actually trusted enough to allow him to watch his back. " I knew it.' Andy said. " Hey, you didn't think I'd forgotten all that he did, did you? I trust him to do what's right, but, since he's my rival now basically, I'm not gonna trust him that much." They soon arrived at the place. It was an old bar. " I don't like this very much, Cash. It's too enclosed. Not a lot of room for fighting if this spills over into a brawl. And with just the two of us.." " Then we'll just have to be really careful and not allow that to happen." Cash responded and then wandered inside. Andy just shook his head. He hadn't a clue right now whether to call his employer/friend/surrogate family member brave and heroic, or just utterly foolish. This all seemed like a bad idea to him, but he figured that Cash knew what he was doing. So, with a quick prayer, Andy followed Cash inside. As soon as thy were both inside, Cash cried out ' I'm looking for a man by the name of Yamada Tatsuya."( in Japan, they say the surname first)." " That's being careful?!" Andy asked. " What? It's the only way I know. You got any better ideas?' " What about asking the bartender where he is and then quietly talking to the man at his table?' " People aren't as 'free spoken' here as they are in states, Andy. It's quite that easy. Making a scene is about the only to drag the person your looking for out." At this time, the man they were looking for stood up from behind a table close to them. Cash noticed the man sitting next to Tatsuya grab Tatsuya's arm and say, in Japanese, " Don't bother boss. He's that rock star from the states. One of the chipmunks. I don't know what he wants, but he can't possibly even speak Japanese, let alone know what he's getting himself into." Cash called out to that man, in Japanese as well, " hey, buddy, for your information, I do speak Japanese. I speak it very well, as a matter of fact." This took the man a back a bit. Tatsuya then brushed his subordinate's hand away and walked closer to Cash and Andy, planting himself a meager three feet away from them. " What exactly do you want with me, Mr. Rock star?" 'I know about you and your yakuza gang." Tatsuya had a bit slight look of surprise on his face. " And?" he asked. " I also know that your harassing a local factory on the east side of town. I know that your trying to get them to do your dirty for you, and kill off some key members of a rival group, so that you can move into their territory." Cash heard the other men murmuring about how he knew so much. "Yes, I recall that. They're quite stubborn. It's a simple job. We're not asking for much." "they're not stubborn, they're afraid. They're afraid of what the group will do to them if the did try this, just like you. Yeah, I know how you failed to do it yourself. I also know how you keep attacking many of the workers that defy you." " So, what exactly do you want?' ' I want you to stop. Leave them alone and get someone else to do your dirty work." " and how do you intend to make me?" "Like this.' Cash then drew his sword, and pointed it at Tatsuya's face. Tatsuya's subordinates jumped up, but Tatsuya waved them back down. " I challenge you, Tatsuya, to duel." " Hmm, interesting. Haven't had a fair challenge in a while. Alright, I accept. What are the stipulations?" " If I win, you must swear on your honor, or what ever is left of it, that you and your men will leave the factory, and all it's workers, alone from here on out. No more harassing them. You'll leave them be, and go about getting what you want some other way. How, I don't care." " Alright. And if I win?" " Then I go back home and you never hear from me again, leaving you free to do as you please." " Hmm, fair enough. Alright, let's go." Tatsuya waved for one of his subordinates to bring him his sword. " Not here." Cash as the man presented Tatsuya his sword. 'What? Why not?" Tatsuya asked. ' Because, though they aren't quite what I'd call 'innocent', all these people are still bystanders, and I don't want them to get in the way." " Fair enough. We shall have this battle outside, and our respective associates shall be the audience, to make sure it's fair." " Then let's go." Andy wasn't sure what had just been said, because he didn't speak Japanese, but he figured that the challenge had been accepted and followed Cash outside. Once all of the audience members had formed a circle around the men, Cash and Tatsuya squared off. " Your going down!' Tatsuya cried and attacked cash. Cash merely blocked the attacked, and returned it with a swift kick to Tatsuya's ribs. The rest of the five minute long battle went much the same way. Even though he was a Yakuza boss, Tatsuya was an unbelievably weak fighter. Cash barely had to move in order to dodge Tatsuya's attacks, and it took only a slightly higher amount of effort to bring the yakuza boss to his knees. Cash knocked Tatsuya's sword out of his hands, leg swept him to the ground, and had his sword to the bosses throat before he could even think about getting up. ' Alright, alright. You win." Tatsuya said. Cash then extended his hand and helped the man to his feet. Tatsuya's men made a move, but Tatsuya stopped them with a wave of his hand. " No, he won, fair and square. He's obviously stronger than me. Now then, what were your demands should you win again?" " You have to swear that you won't bother that factory I was talking about anymore. Your free to do whatever you want in acquiring that territory you want, but I want you to leave the factory and it's workers out of it." " Very well then. We'll leave them alone. Now, come on boys. We'll just have to come up with another strategy for getting that territory. We'd best start planning." Tatsuya picked up his sword and left, his subordinates in tow. " So, you won and he promised to leave the factory alone?" Andy asked. " Yup. Though it's kind of a double edged sword." " How?" " Well, with out the factory, he'll have to come up with some other way to get that territory he wants so bad. Who knows what that'll involve? Oh well, at least the factory's safe." ' Yeah, that's goof, that's the main thing. Besides, your only one man. You can't save an entire city on your own." " Yeah. If I had the others with me, then maybe I could. But that's an adventure for another day." " Yup. Well, we should probably go and tell them that the factory is going to be okay now." " Yeah." " Wow, that went a lot faster than I thought it would. I mean, we just got here today, and it's already taken care of." " Well, i wasn't going to let my cousin suffer any longer than i had too." " Good point, but, what do we do now? Our flight back to Hollywood doesn't leave until the day after tomorrow." " Oh, I'm sure we'll find something to do. Maybe I should show you around, have you take in a little Japanese culture." " Sounds like a plan to me. Lead the way."


	97. Chapter 97

New munks

While the king's away

" The momma mouse must make a deadly tally.." The TV said. Brittany was watching an old DVD that Xavier had. Today, all the mother munks were at Xavier's to help him plan a certain something, Vinny's birthday. He had sent her out with James and Geneva, telling her he needed her to take care of some business for him, because he couldn't get away. This wasn't some lie he just made up however. This was legitimate business he sent her on, but wasn't anything that really needed to be immediately addressed, but he made her believe that it was important. With three days left until the big day, he needed all the help he could get. Organizing a multimillion corporation? No problem for good old Xavier Franklin. But planning a party? There X fell short. The only thing he could do was provide the funds. Eleanor was left in charge of planning and baking the cake, as that played to her strengths. Jeanette was in charge of invitations. Not written ones, but verbal. She currently driving around town, inviting all of the munks friends for the party. The last time she phoned in, she was on her way back from Frankie and Elsa's. Katrina, meanwhile, was in charge of planning the lay out of the decorations. She was currently walking all over the house's bottom floor, which a very large area in it's own right, so that she could decide where the best places for the decorations would be. This left Brittany to be the 'gopher', meaning when one of her sisters needed something, she'd go get it. Right now, she had nothing to do. So, she dipped into Xavier's old DVD collection. She watching an old DVD of a show from Animal planet called 'weird, true' and freaky'. And the contents of the current episode were surprising, to say the least, to Brittany. " Ugh, that's just sick! And to think that, somewhere down the line, she's related to me." Brittany said in disgust. " That's just sick and wrong." " What's that, Brittany?" Jeanette asked, having just returned a moment prior. " Oh, hey Jean. When did you get back?" " Just a second ago. Now, what's sick and wrong?" " Oh, this mouse here in great Britain. I'm watching an old weird, true, and freaky DVD. Get this. This episode is about the most extreme animal cannibals. And, this moue in particular just makes me sick. Just to keep her litter at a manageable size, she eats a few of her own kids! Like, come on! At least try to take care of them all! I can't even begin to think about doing that to my darling little Eliza." " And there lies your problem, Britt." " What do you mean, jean?" " Your thinking like a human, not a chipmunk, or in this case mouse. You can't put yourself her shoes. She's got so many babies and only a limited amount of milk and food. She has to make such a heartbreaking decision to get rid of some of them, so the others can survive." " Okay, Jeanette, I get it. But, tell me something." " What?' " Let's say that you had lots of other kids besides Tony. If things got really bad, could you eat Tony?" " Of course not! I could never do that to my baby boy. In fact, I'd much rather starve to death and let him eat me." ' Exactly my point." Brittany said. " Your both right, okay?" Katrina asked. " Brittany's right. It is sickening, and she should probably just turn it off. And, Jeanette is right about why it's sickening. We think like humans, not animals. That's why we could never dream of doing this. That's why we'd all much rather die, than have to take theirs. Now just drop it." 'Just like Cash." Xavier said. 'Yeah, she is. Britt may be the oldest girl, but there's no denying who's in charge while Cash is away." Eleanor said.' Yeah. Speaking of him, when will he be back?" " The day after tomorrow."

New munks

Harmonica lesson

Meanwhile, Alvin was taking Eliza to her next Harmonica lesson with Tommy. " Alright, I'll pick you up in an hour, baby." " Okay, bye daddy. Love you." She then kissed his cheek and got out of the car. Alvin gave a quick look, to make sure that Eliza had her sai hanging from her belt, just incase. Sure enough, she did. Then he nodded to himself and drove off. Eliza walked p and opened the door, which was always left unlocked for her on this day and at this exact time. " Oh, hey Eliza. I didn't hear you come in." Tommy said. " Yeah, points to my ninja skills! I'm getting better at this stealth stuff all the time." Eliza joked. " alright, let's get down to business. I've got a new set of scales for you. With these, you should be able to train yourself to play even the most complicated song with out running out of air half way through." " Cool, let's get started." After watching Eliza practice for fifteen minutes, and periodically giving the stereotypical encouraging word or correction, Tommy's curiosity got the better of him. He knew the metal things hanging from Eliza's belt like little tails were weapons, but he couldn't figure out why a nine year old would have such things. He had to know. " Okay, that's very good, Liz. Your performing excellently, like always. But, you look a little winded. Wanna take a break?" " Phew, yeah. I thought you'd never ask, actually." A minute later, Eliza was pulling up a chair at Tommy's table. She carefully removed her sai from her belt, so as to not accidentally tear anything when she sat down, and laid them on the table next to her. She then grabbed the juice box set out for her and began to practically inhale the tasty fluid inside. " Ah! Now that's good juice! And it's strawberry flavored too, my favorite!" Tommy smiled, but couldn't keep his eyes off the weapons that just laid, almost blaringly, on the table. " What'cha looking at?" Eliza inquired. " Those." Tommy said. " What?' She look down. She thought he was talking about the buttons on her top. " They're called buttons, Tommy. Lots of shirts have them. Nothing special about mine." 'No, I mean those." He said, pointing to the sai. " oh, my sai?' " Is that what they're called?" " Mmm-hmm. Japanese daggers. I got them from a friend of the family, through my grandpa Xavier.' ' But, why would a nine year old have something like those?" "Because I need them." " For what?' ' For protection." " Protection?!" 'Yeah. And they beat the heck out of pepper spray, that's for sure." " But what on earth would a cute little girl like you need protection from?" " well, see, there's a couple of things we haven't told you.' " I've got all the time in the world. Let's hear it." "Well, okay. But remember, you asked for it." Eliza took a deep breath and, of the course of the next five minutes, told Tommy all he needed to know, as rapidly as possible. Tommy sat there, his mouth agape. Eliza leaned in and pushed it closed. " My God!" he stammered. "What hard lives you kids lead." " Yeah but, it's not all bad. Least we get to play hero from time to time and kick a lot of bad guy butt." Eliza said with a grin. Tommy was astounded by Eliza's sunny outlook on this whole situation. Just as He was about to say something, there came a loud knock at the door. " Stay here." He told her. The knocking continued. " I'm coming, I'm coming. Keep your shirt on." He answered the door, and then immediately slammed it closed when he saw who it was. Soon after, three men, all wearing leather jackets with the word monster on the back, barged in and backed Tommy all the way back to where Eliza could see. " Now, Mr. Waterford, you know today's the day." One said.

New munks

Eliza and the monsters

" And I told you that I don't want anything to do with you guys." Tommy said. " Now, now, Mr. Waterford. Let's not make this any harder than we have to. You know, the sooner you pay, the sooner we leave." " But I never asked for your 'protection'!" " But, in a town like this, you need it. We're just good Samaritans, really we are. We're happy to keep you safe, but it'll cost you.' " I told you, I don't want your protection. Now get out of my house!" " Fine, we tried to do it the easy way. Now we got to beat it out of you." One said, cracking his knuckles. Eliza grabbed the man's arm as he clocked his arm back to throw a punch at Tommy. " What the?" He asked. " I believe he told you three clowns to leave. I suggest you do so." " This doesn't concern you, brat. Stay out of the way." The man sai, brushing Eliza off. He then clocked his arm back again, and Eliza stopped him again. " I told you kid, get lost!' This time, the man made the mistake of putting his hand on Eliza's head as he prepared to shove her away, putting his blatantly dirty hand in her hair in the process. " Don't touch my hair." She said, shoving his hand away. " What?' he asked. " I said don't touch the hair." " Kid, you have no idea who I am. I can touch your hair all I want." He then began to annoyingly poke Eliza in the head. " I'm warning you, if you don't keep your filthy paws away from my hair...' ' What? What are you gonna do? Your just a little.." Eliza sunk her teeth into his hand. " Yeouch!" He cried. Eliza then whipped out her sai. " The little bitch bit me!" Eliza crossed her arms, held her sai firmly in each hand, and narrowed her eyes. This pose made her look like the heroine she was playing right now. " Trust me." She said. " I'm gonna do a lot worse if you don't get out of here." " Oh, you've had it kid! Kill that little bitch." " Bring it on." Eliza said. The other two men rushed Eliza. She ducked them both, and then leg swept them to the floor. She proceeded to paralyze one's arm as he got up. Then she ducked the punch from his one good arm, and got around behind him. She kicked him square in the small of the back, knocking him back down. She then struck the pressure point on one of his legs, which would keep him down for now. The other man then came at her. She ducked his attack, and elbowed him hard in the ribs. He tried to rush her, but she merely grabbed his hand and, using his own momentum to her advantage, threw him over her shoulder. He came down right on top of the other man. The two groaned in pain, as Eliza paralyzed one of the second man's legs too. " is that all you got? Please. I can beat up guys like you in my sleep. Give me something better." The last man, the man she bit, came at her. She kicked him in the stomach and, copying her uncle Cash from so many years ago, jumped up, vaulted off his back, and kicked him as hard as she could in the back of the head as he got up. This knocked him to floor. But, that was where her copy of Cash's attack stopped, as she then jumped up, kicked off the wall, and brought her knees and the handles of her said crashing down on his spine. The two men with paralyzed legs clabbered to their feet as quickly as they could and hurried out the door. The third man, seeing that he was all alone, decided it best to leave too. " And you ever come back!" Eliza yelled. " Lousy crooks. Try to mess up my hair. I spend half an hour every morning to make my mane look this good, and he just runs his dirty fingers through it?! What was with those guys anyways?" " They're from the monsters." " The monsters?" " A local gang. They run an extortion scam, having all the business in the area pay protection money."


	98. Chapter 98

New munks

Trick or Treason

While Eliza chatted with Tommy about this relatively new gang, as she knew about many of the gangs in this city and had never heard of this one, Theodore and kids were visiting Michael. Olivia had brought her pet bird, the ever lovable Mia. " Wow. A rare ringed-neck Blue Jay. Don't see too many of them around, especially not here in California. You've got a really rare, and also really pretty pet bird, Libby." ' Yeah, I know she's cute and all, but there's something wrong with her. I woke up this morning and she didn't look too good. I thought, since your a vet, you might be able to tell what's wrong with her." " I'll be happy to look her over. Hand her over." Olivia so and Michael checked Mia out. Then he smiled. " Well Michael?" Olivia pleaded. " Don't worry, Libby. It's nothing terminal. Mia just has a cold. It'll pass in a few days." " What? Really? O thank God." "If you want, it's fully within my power to prescribe a little medicine for her. It'll clear her up in a day, guaranteed. You want me to do that?" 'Yeah, if you would." " Alright. Where's my pad?" Michael found his prescription pad and wrote out a doctor's order for Libby to go and get some cold medicine for Mia with. " Thank you, Mike." " Not a problem." The group talked for a while. However, they were eventually stirred out of this serenity by a sudden sound. It was the combined sound of the sound of splat and a crack. It could only be one thing, Eggs. Sure enough, when they looked, Michael's house had been egged. They saw a man spray painting Michael's car with the word 'pumpkin-head' and then running off. While the three munks stood, somewhat shocked, Michael just let out a sigh. There was a slight sound of disappointment in his sigh. Like he was disappointed in this man. " Mike!" Theodore yelled. " What?" " Are you just going to stand there and take that?" Michael's fiancé came from the other room. Taking the scene, she sighed as well and said ' Butch again?" " Yeah." Michael returned. " Honey, you know you should do something about this. We can't keep living like this." " But Janet, what can I do? I'm a lover not a fighter. I take care of small animals for a living. A job like that doesn't put a lot of muscle on you. I'd be surprised if I could make a fist tight enough to do any damage." " then go to the police." " I can't." " Why not?' Theodore asked. " You remember Butch don't you Theodore?" " Uh.. Oh, yeah. I remember him now. He was the leader of the monster club, right?" " Right. Well, it seems that Butch hasn't matured much over these many years. Once a bad egg, always a bad egg it seems." ' How so?" " Well, the reason I can't go to the police is because of one simple fact. He's evolved the monster club into the street gang called The Monsters. From what I hear, they run an extortion scheme in another part of town and are known for their vicious muggings. I can't go to the police because I'm afraid that Butch might get word and do something to Janet in retaliation. So, I grin and bear it. I have to, because I'm not willing to put Janet in danger, just because I'm annoyed that he keeps egging my house." " Oh Michael.." Janet said. " 'sigh' I'd really hoped that he'd have grown out of this by now. Apparently, some people just never grow up. To him, I'll always be the pumpkin that got him humiliated that one Halloween." " But that was Al..." Theodore trailed off. " Did you say something, Theo?" Michael asked. " Oh, I said that we have to go." ' I see." " Hey, mike?" Theodore asked as Michael showed them out. " Yeah?" " Don't worry about this. You just leave everything to me."

New munks

Alvin in charge

" I think this is an extraordinarily bad idea, Alvin." Simon said. Alvin and the other remaining brothers were checking up on the old hang out of the monster club. Alvin had been told by Theodore and Eliza about what had happened at Tommy's and Michael's yesterday. So he gathered the other two and went about trying to find butch, hoping to make a difference. " You always say that about every idea I've ever had, Simon." " True but.. Hey, stop and listen to me for a second!" " But that gives him a chance to get away." " Alvin, listen. I understand that you want to help out Michael and Tommy, but think this through. There's only three of us, and God knows how many of them." " So what? We're to used to taking on crowds." " But when we do that, there's usually four of us." ' So what? Cash is great at this stuff, there's no denying that. But, we don't always have to go running to him when this kind of thing pops up. Besides, I was leader for a long time before he came along." " And you never knew what you were doing back then either." " But I do know now. I've watched Cash, and learned from him. I know what I'm doing Simon." " But, Alvin.." " Listen, you can go home if you want. Take Theodore with you too if he wants to go home. But me, I'm going to do whatever I can to help out my friends. If you want to go, fine, I'll see you later." Alvin then marched off. For some reason, Simon felt that Alvin had just called him a bad friend in a very candid way. " Ah, damn it! He's too good at guilt tripping me into things. Alright, let's go. You are coming right Theodore?" " Actually, in all honesty Sy, I was about to leave you here too." Theodore then followed Alvin. " Great, now I have to go." Simon said to himself. Simon quickly caught up with his brothers." I thought you didn't want to do this." Alvin said. " Well, I didn't, I'd look like a bad friend, right? And, your right. We should do all we can to help our friends out. Now let's do this." " That's what I wanted to hear, Sy." The three then entered the building. Sure enough, Alvin's hunch that Butch would still be using the same hang out was right. This took the home field advantage away from Butch somewhat, as Alvin had been in this place many times when he was a kid. Unfortunately, however, Simon had also been right. There was a whole room full of gang members ready to tear them apart. " Wait!' Butch called. ' Well, I'll be. If it ain't Alvin Seville. Oh, I've been waiting for this!" Butch jumped down from his throne like seat and drew a gun. " Did you think I'd forgotten what you did to me that Halloween? The humiliation I endured?!" ' What? You said I had to pull a really good trick in order to become a member, and what's better than getting the drop on the leader of a club devoted to pulling tricks and pranks? That whole thing with the tar or grease or whatever that was and the other members chasing you down the street was just icing on the cake." " Oh, that's it! I'm gonna shut your big mouth once and for all!" " So, I guess that means you wanna fight?" " Hell yes!" ' Alright, but let's make a bet." " A bet? Well, alright. I play the lotto often enough to make me a gambling man. What are we betting on?" 'This. I say that I can beat you with this here sai before you get a chance to shoot me once." " A puny little knife like that is gonna beat bullets?! Oh, this'll be easy! I mean, who brings a knife like that to a gun fight?" " The winner." " Whatever. What are the stakes?" ' If I win, you pull your extortion scam outta the north side and you don't bother those people ever again. Also, you leave Michael, you know him better as pumpkin-head, alone for good too." " Fine." Butch took aim. Alvin waited until right when Butch blinked, which was just a split second before he pulled the trigger. Then, he threw his sai, handle first, straight into the barrel of the gun. Butch never saw it coming. The gun fired alright, but the bullet got stuck. On top of that, it was a high caliber hand gun, so the recoil from this was tremendous. It flung Butch's arm backwards and knocked him off balance. Alvin capitalized on this and kicked square in the chest, knocking him down and severely winding him. Alvin then yanked his sai out of the guns barrel and sprang over towards Butch. Before Butch had caught his breath, Alvin had both his sai crossed at Butch's neck, the ridiculously sharpened edges dangerously close to his throat. Butch reached for his gun, but Alvin brought the cool steel close enough for Butch to feel. " Try it and I'll crave you up like a Christmas turkey." Alvin threatened. " Alright! You win! Now let me up." Alvin moved and allowed Butch to get up. Butch, however, had a plan in mind. He dived at Alvin, but Alvin ducked the attack. Butch ended up slamming face first into Simon's staff and Theodore's tonfa. " Looks like I win for real, huh?" " I guess. I'll move our forces out of the north side." " And?" " And I'll pump.. Michael alone." Butch grumbled. " Now get out of my sight!" " Gladly." Alvin said. As they were driving back in Alvin's car, getting closer and closer to home. " And here you were worried Sy." " Well, yeah, I guess your right. It went very well. But, that seemed ridiculously, compared to the crap we normally have to deal with, didn't it?" "Eh, I'll give you that. It's Cash's fault. He takes the good stuff, like going off to fight Yakuza." Meanwhile, back in Japan, Cash and his Japanese cousins were showing Andy around. All the while, Cash seemed to be looking for something. " What are you looking for, Cash?' Andy inquired. " My mom's birthday is coming up. In fact, if we do leave tomorrow, assuming we don't have any delays to worry about, we should be back with a day to spare. Now, I just need to get her something." They walked down the street and entered a market district, where a party seemed to be going on. " What's all this?" Andy asked. " It's the Kirin festival." Kimiko responded. " Kirin Festival? But it's too late for that." Ken said. " What's up with the late Kirin festival, Kimiko?' Cash asked. " There was a lot of bad weather around the time they normally hold it. So, they postponed it until they got some more ideal conditions, and the weather wasn't going to get any better than today's." " Ah, I see." " Would one of you please explain what this Kirin festival is?" Andy asked. " Oh, that's right, your the only one in the dark here, aren't you Andy?" Kimiko asked. " Obviously." " I'll tell him mom." Rena said. ' The Kirin festival is a yearly festival that honors the great Kirin, a mighty dragon that guards the balance of power between the human and Yokai worlds." " yokai?" " you know, monsters." " Remember the whole thing with Makoto not too long ago Andy?" Cash asked. " Yeah." " Those creatures he made were made to look and act like yokai. The Kappa, the Tengu, the Hinotama? All Yokai." " Ah, so that's what they're like." " Right, and every year, we hold this festival as thanks to Kirin for making sure that humans don't have to worry about any Yokai getting too powerful, and the yokai don't have to worry about humans getting too powerful either. Therefore, Kirin is the keeper of the balance of power between the two worlds." " I see." " It's also where we crown this years Kirin rider." " Kirin reader?" Andy asked." The Kirin rider is the human partner of Kirin and assists the dragon in keeping the balance. About three people dress up as a long fake dragon and dance about. Eventually, they have the fake mouth bite some one in the crowd, and thus picks them as this years Kirin rider." "I see. Well, let's go check it out."


	99. Chapter 99

New munks

Kirin Rider

" So, is the idea to get bit, or try to avoid it?" Andy asked. The group was watching the false dragon dance it's way through the market district. " Well, it really depends on who you are." Cash said. " If your the really superstitious type, you try to avoid it. Those types back away because they're afraid that if they're crowned Kirin rider, they may just be called on to fulfill the Kirin rider's duties. Now, on the other hand, there are those tat are trying to get bit. They're the types that like the glitz and the glamour. You know, the fifteen minutes of fame associated with being crowned Kirin rider. So, it really depends on who you are. Me, I'm keeping my distance." " I never pegged you to be superstitious, Cash." "I'm not. It's just that, the last three times I came to this festival, all back when I was living with Agito, I got bitten and was crowned Kirin Rider. You can only do something so many times before you get sick of it. Besides, I'm a rock star. I don't need anymore fame and glamour than I already have." Andy began to chuckle to himself. " What?" Cash asked. " Cash Seville, guardian of world!" Andy laughed. " Shut up." " Well, now that I think about it, you've always been the Kirin rider, uncle Cash." Rena said. ' Yeah, three times in a row." " No, I mean that you've been the rider since you were born. Your a true, blue hero. Born and breed. So, you've always been the rider." Cash just scratched the back of his head, somewhat nervously. " Aw, Rena, your embarrassing him." Rai laughed. " Oh shut up, Rai." Cash said. ' Here comes the dragon." Kimiko said. Cash saw the dragon make an immediate sharp turn towards him. " oh no, not again!" Without really thinking, Cash accidentally shoved Andy in the way. The dragon's mouth came chomping down, right onto Andy's head. The group began laugh as Andy squirmed, trying to get free of the dragon's vice grip like bite. Finally, he pulled himself free. Then audience around him began to clap. " What's going on? What just happened?" Andy asked Cash. " You just got crowned Kirin rider for this year." Then the crowd shoved Andy out into the center of the street, so that all could see. Kimiko followed, as she figured Andy would need a translator. Andy received a flag, a ceremonial robe and a fake sword. He was promptly dressed up in the robe, had the flag hung behind him and was told to hold the sword just so, while the audience took pictures. After a half hour, the group was once again allowed to cruise the streets at their leisure, though the occasional person would come up, wanting a picture with this year's Kirin rider. Cash came across a small shop. " Oh, jackpot!' He cried. " What?" Andy asked. " I found what I'm gonna get mom for her birthday." " and that is?" " Look at these." Cash said, pointing to a box full of variously sized shiny stones. " What about them?" " These are Dorodango balls." " Really?" Kimiko asked. " I haven't seen those for a while." " What's Dorodango?" Andy asked. " Dorodango is a Japanese technique of taking simple dirt mixing it with some water, and rolling these perfect little balls out of them. It takes time and lots of patience, but you end up with these nice, solid, shiny stones." " These shiny little things are actually just done up mud balls?" ' Yup. I'm gonna buy this whole set for mom. These will make perfect decorations for her garden." " Now that I think about it, I should get her something too. Kimiko, take me to the nearest clothing shop. I'm gonna buy Vinny a nice dress." " Alright then. Follow me, lord Kirin rider." "You know, I could get used to that." Andy joked.

New munks

Festa

After buying a very nice dress for Vinny, which actually had real, preserved, sakura flowers sewn into it, the gang returned back to the Ikebana homestead. " Well, what shall we do for lunch?" Kimiko asked. ' It's only lunch time? I thought it was a lot later than that." Cash said. " You've been in California too long, Cash." " Guess I have, but hey, it's my home." ' They say home is where the heart is, and we all know that Katrina's got a firm grip on yours." " Does that bother you, Kimiko?" " Of course not. I love Kate. I love those wonderful little kids of yours too. Ha-ha, I still remember you four coming to Japan that one time when Helen was four. She followed me around everywhere, always asking ' what'cha doing, aunty Kimiko? Can I help, aunty Kimiko?" " She wanted to watch you do things the Japanese way, so the she could learn.' " God, I'm worried for her." ' Why?' "I'm afraid that if she stuffs any more knowledge into that brain of hers, her head's gonna explode." That mad Cash laugh harder than he had in a long while. " But seriously Cash, I don't mind you living in the states. It's your home, it's where wife and family are. But, don't hesitate to come visit us when you get the chance." " I hear you Kimiko. I promise, next time I get the chance. Who knows, maybe we'll be in in time for the next Kirin festival." " And Tom can be crowned then." ' yeah." " Well, if you two are done yapping, I got an idea for where we can go for lunch." Ken said. ' Where?" The two asked. " How about Festa?' " Festa? Oh, that glorified karaoke restaurant down on Roppongi street, right?" " Yup. I hear that they've got private dining rooms that accommodate up to 30 people." " On top of that, each room's got a stage, with lots of instruments, and up to 200 costumes, so you can enjoy your own private karaoke party while you eat their fine food." Rai said. " Okay, sold. Let's go." Cash said. Later on, they were at the restaurant, placing their drink orders. Andy had unknowingly ordered a very alcoholic drink. He then went to check out what kind of costumes and instruments their room had. Cash looked at the menu and read what was in the drink Andy had ordered. " uh, Andy.." He started, but Ken stopped him. " If he's a real man, he can handle it. After all, it's mostly just sake." " yeah but, the other stuff they have mixed in.. God. Rum, vodka, a little whiskey.. There's enough booze is this drink to knock even the strongest man alive on his back." ' Then it'll be really funny to see how he handles." ' I'm not gonna let him drink that." Andy returned and the drinks arrived, Cash was about to try and swap drinks with Andy, but Andy was just to quick. He downed the entire drink in one go. " Seems you were too late, Cash." Ken mocked. " What's wrong, cash?" Andy asked. " I tried to stop you, but you were too fast Andy." " What do you mean?" " Your drink had at least six different kinds of booze in it." " Really? Huh, I feel fine." "Just wait for it." Ken said. In ten minutes, Andy was officially smashed, much to Ken's amusement, and was singing every song that he could. He was currently singing " You take the high road, and I'll take the low, and I'll be in Scotland before ye!" " Oh why didn't I stop him?" " Op, gotta go to the bathroom." Andy said and then wandered off. Cash was about to follow him, to make sure he wouldn't end up puking all over the restroom or something, but was stopped by Rena." Okay, one song, and then I should go check on Andy." " Fine by me, uncle Cash." Meanwhile, Andy was returning back to their room. But, two young girls stopped him, by hitting him in the back of the head.

New munks

Got it from her momma

After An hour, the group was leaving. Cash had sent Rai to go check on Andy. " He's not in the bath room, Cash." " Oh great. What's happened to him now? Oh man, Patty's gonna kill me." " Relax Cash. He probably just found some cute little thing and went off to have a little fun before we leave tomorrow." Said a severely inebriated Ken. " Well, I didn't peg him for that, but he is technically on vacation." " Right, and he's just gonna live it up a little before we go home. So relax. Besides, he's a big boy. Surely he can find his way back. And, he'll call if he gets lost right?" " Yeah, I guess so." " Well then there's nothing to worry about. Now let's go home, I gotta sleep those drinks off, or I'm gonna have the hang over from hell tomorrow." Cash still didn't feel right about this. " Don't worry, Cash, he'll most likely be back before we go to bed." Kimiko reassured Cash. ' I hope your right, Kimiko." So, the group returned home. Around four that afternoon, they still hadn't heard from Andy. As they were preparing to go out looking for him, Cash's phone began to beep. " I've got a video message." Cash said. He'd played the video. They were all shocked to see Andy in the video. On top of that, he showed signs that he had been severely beaten. ' Andy!' Kimiko shouted. " we've got your friend, you furry little bastard. He's paying for you embarrassing master Tatsuya! If you really care anything about your funny talking friend, you can come and trade places with him." a voice said from behind the camera, while another figure, in a black hood, stood next to Andy. " Don't do it Cash! It's a trap!' Andy yelled. " Shut up!' The figure next to him said, striking him in the back of the head. " Come to warehouse h in the back streets of Akihabara in one hour. That's all.' The video ended. " God damn it! I thought you said those yakuza were told by their leader to leave us all alone." Rai said. " They were. But, if you listened to the video as closely s I did, you'll notice that those were two girls." " What, really?" " Yeah, the one that him was obviously female, and the one talking was using a voice changer, but I could pick out enough to know that it was a woman's voice too. These are probably just admirers of Tatsuya, looking for pay back for me beating their 'master'." " I see. But, your not seriously going to go are you?" " Of course. He's my friend. On top of that, I promised his mom that I'd make sure he'd come home safe and sound. Now then, I'd best get going." Cash left before any of the others were able to stop him. Rena, meanwhile, had snuck out the back way and followed Cash. When Cash arrived, he was immediately ambushed by two men, possibly the brothers of the girls. He fought them off, though he felt sorry for them being dragged into this by the girls. When he went inside, the girls both pounced on him, only to both receive a kick in the face by Rena. Rena proceeded to knock them both down. " Rena?" " Hey, uncle Cash." " Where did you get you ability to fight?' ' heh heh, I got it from my momma." Cash recalled that Kimiko was trained in hand to hand by Agito and had probably passed it on to Rena. He nodded. " Alright, ready to kick some ass, Rena?' " Born ready." With in five minutes, the sorry excuses for kidnappers were hightailing it. Cash shook his head. " Seriously Andy. You've gotta stop falling for those girls with the dark and flashing eyes." " Just shut up and get me out of here." Once freed, Andy said " When we get home, don't you dare mention this to anybody." ' I wouldn't dream of it, Andy." Cash laughed.


	100. Chapter 100

New munks

Vinny's birthday

As promised, Cash had made no remark about what had happened in Japan when he and Andy returned home. When asked about Andy's injuries, he merely replied " Yakuza are tough bastards." Thinking about the things they had heard about the Yakuza, the other munks accepted this reply. But, now was not the time to focus on battles and injuries. Now was a time for celebration. Today was Vinny's birthday. Vinny sat before a massive cake that Eleanor had baked. It said 'happy birthday to the best mom in the world'. The cake was so big that all of that could fit on it, with no 'squeeze work' to get the letters in. " Eleanor, you shouldn't have gone through all this trouble, just for little old me. And, best mom in the whole world? Come on now." "No sense in arguing with the truth, mom." Alvin said. " Alvin's right, mom." Eleanor said. " Now, blow out your candles so we can cut the cake." " Well, alright." Simon lit the wax, number 42 shaped candle's wick and Vinny blew it out. " Happy birthday t you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Vinny, happy birthday to you.' The munks sang. " Thank you all." Eleanor then removed the candle, brought out a large knife and spatula, and began to cut the cake. " Which do you want Mom? Chocolate or vanilla?" Eleanor asked. She had made the cake half and half. Half chocolate and half vanilla. " um, vanilla please, dear." " Come on mom, it's your birthday. Live it up a little." Alvin suggested. " Well, alright. Chocolate then." " That's more like it." Alvin tapped Eleanor on the shoulder when Vinny wasn't looking. " Give her a big piece, and let's see what she does." " Okay." Eleanor decided, so long as they were going with a big piece of cake for Vinny, she might as well give her a bigger scoop of ice cream too. Vinny looked to Alvin when she noticed how her food was so much bigger than everybody else's. " What?" Alvin asked when he caught her stare. " Nothing. Thank you Alvin. I wanted a big piece anyways. And thanks for extra ice cream too. Mm, cookie dough, my favorite.' " But I didn't tell Ely to.." He heard Eleanor cough suggestively behind him. " oh, okay." He said. After a while, it came time for Vinny to open her gifts. She marveled at the dress Andy got for her and promised to wear to church this coming Sunday. She opened Xavier's gift to reveal a designer purse, with her name engraved on clasp which closed it up, and also had her name stitched into the side. "It's so extravagant. Xavier, I know I needed a new purse, but you didn't have to get me something so fancy." "Lighten up Vinny. You'd think you'd come to expect things like this by now." " Give up, Grandpa. It's just not in Grandma's character." Tony said. "I guess your right, Tony." Vinny smiled and then hugged Xavier. " Don't get me wrong, I love it, I just wish you wouldn't spend so much on me." " Vinny, your practically my daughter. I wouldn't be a very good father figure if I didn't pull out all the stops with you, now would I?" " Well, I suppose not. Thank you Xavier." " Your welcome Vinny." " I hate to interrupt this touching moment, but you've got more gifts to open mom." Alvin said. " Oh, right. I almost forgot." Eventually, they wound down to Cash's gift. " What exactly are these honey?" Vinny asked. ' Dorodango balls." " So those are dorodango balls. I've always wondered what they looked like." Simon said. "I heard they make these out of dirt and water, is that true?" " Yup." "They got all that cool stuff in Japan, and you get her shiny mud balls? What's wrong with you?" Alvin asked." They're fine Alvin. They'll look great in my garden." " That was my plan." Cash said.

New munks

Order of the Lycans

While the munks enjoyed themselves at their mother's birthday party, Larry and Raya sat in the den with Dave and Miss Miller. " Have you tried calling up the postal service and asking them if they can track it back to where it came from?" Dave asked. They were talking about an unnerving letter that had arrived in Larry's mail recently. " It didn't come through the post office, Dave. It just show up in my mail box, addressed to me, with no postage or sender address." " What did it say?" " It said 'We will come for you by the light of next full moon. You shall embrace your true nature and join the ranks of the wolf once more.'" " Ranks of the wolf?.. Werewolves!" " That's exactly what we were thinking." Raya said. " What on earth would a bunch of werewolves want with you?" Dave asked. " Well, if the letter actually means what it says, they want to capture me and turn me back into a werewolf." " Man, what's wrong with these guys? If they only knew how much you've been through." " I know." Larry said. " I'm really hoping that this is just some sick prank." Raya said. " But, Raya dear, how would mere pranksters know about my being werewolf in the past?' ' Just let me believe the lie I've made up, dear." " Fair enough." " Have you told Jesse and Juliet yet?" Dave asked. " No, Jessica doesn't even know. We've kept it to ourselves." " I see. Hmm, should I warn Theodore?" " Why?' " Well, think about this. If they know that you were werewolf, who's to say that they don't about him too?" " Theodore never made it past his first full moon, so the power of the curse never really set in. Which would explain why he can't temporarily summon the werewolf strength, like I can. That being said, I doubt he has anything to worry about. Best not to bother him. Besides, it's his mother's birthday. IT wouldn't be right to bother him with something like that on a day like today." " I guess your right. We should all stay on our toes though, just in case." " I agree." " Hey, guys, you gonna come have some cake or what?" Cash called to the four. " We're coming, Cash." That night, Larry noticed something. "Tonight s a full moon. That means they're coming." " Don't like that dear. Now, come to bed." Raya said. Larry, ever airing on the side of caution when it came to werewolf related matters, went to bed with a silver necklace and ring on. He then tried to rest. Meanwhile, three figures, each wearing trace amounts of silver themselves, were gathering outside. " IS the place brother Henry?" One asked. " yes, Brother William. This is the place. This is where the traitor resides." " He is not a traitor. He is merely ignorant of the power this gift provides, and as such, regards it as a curse. Fear not though. Before tonight is over, we shall enlighten him and he will embrace his inner wolf once more. Now, Brother Marcus, if you'd be so kind as to fetch him for us." " With pleasure." With a single, powerful leap, Marcus came crashing through the window. He instantly awoke everybody in the house, but that didn't matter. Marcus, having embraced his inner wolf, proved too strong for Larry and tossed him down to the waiting brothers below. With a single swift kick, Marcus sent Raya and Jessica crashing into the wall, knocking them out in the process, and then leapt out the window to join his fellows. As they shoved Larry into their car, Henry stopped. " What is it, Brother Henry?" William asked. " I sense another, Brother William. Another, very close by, who has tasted this power, but turned his back on it." " Well then, let us find him and enlighten him as well." And so, the three headed for Theodore's house.

New munks

Guiding light

While there was a repeat performance of Larry's house going on at Theodore's place, Cash, Alvin and Simon lay in their beds, tossing and turning. They were all dreaming about Theodore being dragged away by three shadowy figures. They kept chasing after him, but couldn't catch up. All of a sudden, the three figures turn around, sharp, white teeth are flashed, and then the three shadows pounce on the three brothers. Then all goes pitch black, and all they can hear is Theodore yelling for them. This dream was bad enough to rouse them all out of their sleep. " Theodore!' Cash said. " What's going on Cash?" Katrina, awakened by Cash crying out in the night, asked. " I just had a dream that somebody was dragging Theodore away." " Well, I'm sure it was just a dream. Theodore's fine. Now, go back to sleep dear." It was the same deal at Alvin's and Simon's. They all tried to go back to sleep. But, the brother's all had another dream, all at the same time. This time, they were surrounded by a vibrant white light, and for some reason, felt at peace. They felt the same kind of feeling that a scared child feels when they are being comforted by their father. In essence, they could feel their father Tom there with them. Suddenly, they heard a voice, calling their names. " Cash." " Huh? Who's voice is that?" " Cash." " Who are you?!" ash cried. 'Come on now, Cash. You know who I am." " It can't be... Father?" " Bingo, Kiddo." " Dad.. You have no idea how bad I've been wanting to talk to you." " Oh, I think I do. I'm one of your guardian angels. In fact, I'm Al, Sy, and Theo's too. I also watch over your kids." " I see." " Listen kiddo, you gotta wake up and gather your brothers." " Why dad?" " You had a dream about Theodore, didn't you?" " Yeah." " Well son, that was no dream. That was a premonition. See, you four are kind of like twins. Since you all come from one birth, you have a mental connection that tells you when something is up with one of the others. That dream was that link's alarm going off." " Are you saying that Theodore's actually in real trouble?" " You got it, sport. Now, up and at'em." Cash's eyes snapped open. He immediately got out of bed. " What is it now Cash?" Katrina asked. " I just had a vision Kate." " I'm sure it was just another dream, baby. You've got to stop taking these things so seriously." " Kate, it was vision of my dad." " Tom?" " yeah. Dad spoke to me. He said that dream I had about Theodore wasn't a dream at all. It was the mental link between me and my brothers telling me that something is wrong. He said that, because we all come from one birth, we have a mental link that tells when something's up and that dream was a warning. I gotta get Al and Sy and go find out what's going on." Just then, the phone rang. " Hello?" "Cash, It's al. You are not gonna believe the dream I just had." " Dad talked to you about Theodore too?" " you had the dream too?" " Yup, and I'd bet anything that Simon did too." " Okay, now I know something's wrong. I'll call Sy and we'll meet at Theodore's." " Right. Kate." " I know. I'll get the kids up and follow you as soon as we can. I know that Tom won't wanna miss this." " Alright, I'll see you in a bit." Cash and Alvin met in the center of the stree t that sepreated their houses. They both had their respective weapons. " Let's go." Alvin said. " Right. They met simon at Theodore's house. The broken window and shards of glass laying on the ground were instant concern. They pounded on the door, but no one answered. " Move.' Cash said. He kicked the door open. " Cash.." Simon started. " It ain't broke. Now let's go find Eleanor." ' Right."


	101. Chapter 101

New munks

Where's Theodore?

"Eleanor!" Cash said, softly smacking his sister-in-law's face in an effort to rouse her. " Eleanor, you still with us, sis?" ' uh, huh? Cash? Guys? What are you... Theodore!" " Not here, unfortunately. We looked all over, and there's no sign of him." Alvin responded. " So, that wasn't a dream." " Guess not." Alvin said. " Eleanor, tell us what happened." Cash said. " It all happened so fast, I'm not quite sure on exactly what happened." " Just try to tell us what you remember. Oh, and Al?" " Yeah?" " Try to wake Libby and Ben." " You got it.' " Okay, go ahead Ely." " Well, Theodore and I had just gotten the kids off to bed, and then settled in ourselves. That's about when it happened. Oh, of all the times that we forgot to set the alarm.." "Focus, Eleanor." " Right. Well, all of a sudden, this guy just leaps through that window over there. That woke us all up. The kids cam running while Theodore tried to fight him. But, he easily over powered Theodore. Then, he threw Theodore out the window, down to some accomplices I guess. Then, he kicked me and the kids, really hard too, and I guess that knocked us out. You can guess at it from there." " I see." Cash said. " Well, what do you make of this, leader man?" Alvin asked. " I haven't the slightest clue." " Could it be the group again?" Alvin asked. " He didn't look to be with them. And, he was way too strong to just be another one of their henchmen." Eleanor said. " Hmm." Simon said. " What is it Simon?" Cash asked." Look at this cloth fragment stuck to this piece of broken glass." " Looks like a piece of somebody's shirt or something." " Well, it ain't green, so it's not Theo's." Alvin said. " No, it's not. But, I'll bet it does belong to our mystery kidnapper." " Well, that would be useful if one of us had a blood hound for a pet." Alvin said. " Be serious, Alvin." " I am. I'm really wishing we had a blood hound or something right now. Don't get me wrong, I know Edge is a feisty pup, but his sniffer's not that good. Right, Cash?" 'Yeah, pretty much. Except when's food's involved." " Well, putting the wish for a blood hound aside, take a look at this." " What is that?" Alvin asked. " Some kind of metal." Simon then caught the glint of cash's sword. " Cash, draw your sword and let me see it." "Okay." Simon examined the blade. ' Come on, where's a fleck, where's a fleck? There!" Simon located a fleck of the silver that was infused in Cash's sword. " Take a look at this. Look familiar?" " It's the same stuff." Alvin said. " That's silver." Cash said. ' Wait. You mean this guy's got silver sewn into his clothes?" Alvin asked. " Seems that way.' Cash said. " I wonder what for." Simon said. " Cash!" Katrina called from down stairs. " Up here, babe!" " Damn, looks like a war zone in here." Brittany said. " Britt, what are you.." " I couldn't stand the wait, hon. And by the looks of it, your in way over your head. You need me and Liz." " Liz came too?!" " And Jeanette and Tony." " Well, the gang's all here then." " Cash, our problems just got bigger." Katrina said, interrupting Alvin and Brittany. " What do you mean?" " Raya called as the kids and I were heading out the door. She said that a man broke into their house and kidnapped Larry." " Could it be the same guy?" Alvin wondered out loud. 'That's exactly what I was thinking Al." Cash said. " So, whoever took Theodore, has Larry too." Simon said. 'Wait, Theodore's been kidnapped too?" Brittany asked. 'Yup." " Why just them?" " Who knows? What did you do about Raya, Kate?" " I told her to go to next door to Dave's. Least then she's got Dave and Debbie to keep her and Jessica company." " Okay, let's go there and then come up with a plan."

New munks

A mother's duty

Vinny, meanwhile, was trying all she could to get to sleep. She had already taken the recommended dose of sleep aids for a woman her age, and still she couldn't sleep. " What's wrong with me?" She wondered out loud. Her mind was the problem. It would stop racing. Something was wrong, she was sure of it, but she couldn't figure put her finger on what. In an effort to ease her troubled mind, Vinny took out the box the guys had found and went through the old pictures of her and Tom. " if only I could get another night to talk to him, like I did before. 'sigh' I guess I couldn't be that lucky." She stared at a picture of Tom. He was striking his signature pose. He had a big, goofy grin on his face, both of his eyes were closed and he was flashing the 'v for victory' sign. In this picture, he was holding up a large fish he had managed to catch with just his bare hands. " You fought with that fish for half an hour. You were so proud of yourself. And that was some of the best fish I've ever eaten. 'sigh' If only you could tell me what's wrong Tom. I know something is up, but I just can't quite put my finger on what. Please, tell me what's wrong, Tom, so I can take care of it." She then finally managed to close her eyes and drift off into what could barely be described as sleep. " Vin Hey, Vinny. Vinny wake up." " What? Tom?" Vinny looked at her dresser's mirror. There was an image of Tom in the glass. ' Tom? What are you.." "You asked me to tell you what's wrong." ' Oh yeah." " Truth be told, I was about to tell you anyways when you asked. Now, listen Vinny." Vinny nodded. " Theodore is in trouble." " What's wrong with my baby?" " a powerful force has taken him. Vinny, these guys are werewolves, and they want to make Theodore one again." " No!" " They've kidnapped him and taken him away. The other's are trying to piece together what's going on as we speak, but they really can't fathom the kind of trouble they're walking into." " I have to help them!" " That's what I was about to say. Get going, Vinny. I'll guide you." " Xavier! Andy! Everybody wake up!" Vinny began shouting. " Uh, what's the matter Vin? It's the middle of the night?" Geneva asked. " I'm sorry for waking you all but, Xavier, Andy, we've got trouble." She began to explain what was going on. " Okay. Just let us go get dressed." Xavier said. " There's no time, Xavier." " Vinny, we can't go out to a fight in our pjs." " My boys are." "But, they're also a lot slimmer and faster than us. They can fight in anything. Just give us a minute." " Vinny, they're headed for Dave's." Tom's voice echoed in Vinny's head. " Tom just told they're going to Dave's. You go get ready and I'll meet you there." " Fair enough.' Andy and Xavier returned to their rooms in order to get dressed. Vinny darted down stairs and out the door, stopping only at a closet in which a certain object that belonged Andy was kept. Vinny took out said object and hoped that she wouldn't have to use it. Meanwhile, Xavier gathered his things. He had his usual rifle and a few tranquilizer, regular, and armor piercing rounds. " Ready , Andy?" Xavier asked. " I can't find it, Xavier!" ' Can't find what?" " My pistol! It's not in the box on the top shelf of this closet... You don't think that.." " Yeah, she probably did. Vinny's got your gun. Just go put on the Prometheus suit and let's get going." " I'd have to go change again and we just don't have the time for me to do that.." " Here's a spare rifle then. Now let's go." " Right." Meanwhile, Vinny was racing down the street, Andy's nemesis pistol held firmly in her right hand. "Hang on, Theodore honey. I'm coming!"

New munks

In the den of the wolves

Theodore awoke to find himself chained up in a small room. " Your awake." said a voice to his right. " Larry? What's going on?" " It's kind of hard to explain, Theodore." " Allow me." said a man entering the room. ' First, some introductions. My name is William. I already know your names. Larry Talbot and Theodore Seville.' " yeah, nice to meet you, now tell us what's going on.' Theodore said, sounding a lot more like Alvin than his usual self. "Straight to the point, eh? Very well. Firstly, let me tell you where you are. You are in the sanctuary of the order of the Lycans." " Lycans?" " Werewolves, Theodore. A tribe of werewolves." Larry explained. " I believe I said order, not tribe." " Same difference." "Very true, Mr. Talbot. I'm sure that wit serves you well. And it'll be even sharper after the ascension." " Ascension?" ' Yes. The ascension into the glorious embrace of the power of the wolf." " What the heck is he on about?" Theodore asked. " If I'm hearing him right, he aims to turn us into werewolves again, Theodore." " What?! No way! I'm not taking on that curse again!" "Oh, I remember when I was like you. I regarded this wonderful gift as a curse, just like you. Then I met Brother Jeremiah, a century old werewolf. Some say he was born one. When I met him, he opened my eyes to the true greatness of this power. And tonight, we will do the same for you." 'Your crazy!" " I said the exact same thing to Jeremiah before he enlightened me." " You have no idea what we had to go through in order to break free from that curse." Theodore said. " I assure you, once you've ascended, your realize it was all pointless. Now then, brother Marcus, the man who rescued you." " You mean kidnapped." Theodore said. ' Call it what you want. Anyways, he has volunteered to be the wolf that turns you. And, with tonight being a full moon, we will not have to wait for your ascension to begin. Marcus will be in shortly. Good evening gentlemen, and welcome back to the fold." William then left. Theodore began to thrash about, trying to get out of his chains. " Forget about it, Theodore. Those chains are just to tough to break. I even tried turning on my left over super strength from my werewolf days and I still couldn't break them. There's no use." " Come on, don't talk like that, Larry. There has to be a way to get out of here." Theodore continued to struggle. " I am not letting them turn me again! Not after what happened last time!" Theodore stained himself to say. " Ugh, it's no use. I can't get out of these things.' " I told you. How do we get ourselves into these messes, Theodore?' " I don't know. Man, come on, there's got to be a way outta here." " It's no use Theodore. We're gonna be turned, and that's all there is to it." " Don't give up. Come on, think. There has to be a way out of this." " Why are you struggling so much?" " Better question. Why aren't you?" " What?' " What about Raya? Don't you care about her? Do you think she wants to live the rest of her life having to lock you up come time for the full moon? I know Ely sure doesn't. And what Jesse? Or Juliet? How about Jessica or Kathy? How do you think they'd feel about it? Come Larry, you can't just give up. Come on, do it for Raya, do it for Jesse and Juliet, and Kathy too. Don't forget about Jessica. Fight for the people who love you.' " Theodore..." " You know, back when I was a werewolf, I was real cocky, because of the power. I was a jerk to everybody, even Eleanor. I shamelessly hit on her and drove her away from me. That's the only time that I've seen her look like she hated me. I never want to see that again. Now, let's get out of here." " Alright, let's do it."


	102. Chapter 102

New munks

The escape

" And you didn't think that that would have been useful information?!" Alvin yelled. Dave and Raya had just told them what they believed was going on. "Cool it, Al. Yelling at them isn't going to do any of us any good." Cash said. "Yeah, I know, but it makes me feel a lot better." "Whatever. But, Alvin does have a point, Dave. Why didn't you tell us?" Cash asked. " It was our mom's birthday. We didn't think it would be right to bother. On top of that, Larry told me not to." " Wait till I get my hands on Larry." Brittany said. " He'll wish he was back with the werewolves once I'm done with him." " We have to rescue him first, Britt." Katrina said. " And then you'll join me?" " And then I'll join you." Cash and Alvin glanced at their wives and then looked to each other. Both could only shrug and the try to continue the conversation. " Okay, so we know the who, what, when, why and how. What about the where?" Alvin asked. " That's the million dollar question it seems. And nobody can answer it." Simon said. There came a loud knock at the door. " I'll go get it, Dave." Debbie said. Vinny heard footsteps coming towards the door from the other side. She slid the gun into her night robe's pocket just before the door opened. " Hello Debbie. Are my boys here?" " Yes, they are, Ms. Chipmunk. Come on in." " Mom? What are you doing here?" Alvin asked. " Well.." Vinny told what had happened. " And Dad said he'll guide you?" Cash asked. "Yes." " Well come on then. Let's go get in the car and see where he takes us." The group crammed into Dave and Raya's cars and left. Xavier and Andy rolled up just in time to see them drive away. "They're already leaving." " I don't know how they know where they're going, but let's follow them.' Andy said. " Right." Theodore and Larry, meanwhile, were searching the room for a means to escape. William returned. " Oh, you managed to get up and start walking around? That's good. Exercise is good for you. I came to tell you that Marcus is currently speaking with Brother Jeremiah about something. He'll still be the one who frees you but, it'll be about another half an hour. So please, get some exercise. Or take nap. Swap funny stories if you want. Just try to keep yourselves entertained until he arrives." William then left. " He thinks he's so slick. If I was free, I'd bop him one." Larry said. " We'll have plenty of time for that later. Now keep looking." Theodore said. " Right." Theodore then happened to notice a canister just sitting in the corner of the room. ' Hey, isn't that a compressed air canister?" he asked. " It sure is. How did we over look that?" " No idea, but I guess that you know what I've got in mind?" " Use that canister like a missile to blow the door down? Oh yeah." " Alright, help me get it over here." It took a few minutes ,but finally, they had it aimed at the door. " Okay, kick the valve off!' Theodore said. They began to stomp at the valve. After a few well placed kicks they knocked the valve clean off and it flew into the door. It did exactly what they hoped it would and they escaped the room. As they raced down the hallway, trying to find the way out, they heard screaming coming from the corridor to their right. It sounded like human cries for help and they went to investigate. " hey, your not one of them are you?" One man in a room similar to the one they were in asked. " No." Larry said." Please you gotta get us out of here. I don't wanna be a monster." " Your preachin' to the choir bud, but we're a bit tied up at the moment. We're gonna get out of here and then we'll come back with help. Don't worry, we won't leave you behind."

New munks

Munks to the rescue

As Theodore and Larry found the way out, the rest of the gang rolled up. " Guys!" Theodore shouted. He had never been as happy to see his family as he was now. " Theo, Larry1 Oh thank God, your alright." Brittany said. " Here, let us help you out of these chains." Jeanette said. The gang pulled on the chains and, with their combined might, they managed to loosen the chains enough for the guys to squeeze out of them. " How'd you find us?" Theodore asked. " We had a little help from above." Cash said, patting Vinny on the back. " Huh?" " Long story. We'll tell you later. Come on now, let's go home." " We can't." "Why not?" Alvin asked. " they've got other hostages!" " Your freaking kidding me, right?!" Alvin said. " No. We ran into some on our way out. They can't get out like we did." " That begs the question. If you were chained up, how did you escape?" Simon asked. " We don't have time for that, Sy. We gotta help those people, before they get turned into snarling monsters." " Your right. Okay, you can tell us later. Now let's get in there." The small army, that was made up of fifteen chipmunks and six humans, marched inside. They came to four hallways. " Great, a big old fork in the road, what now?" Alvin asked. Cash listened to the four hallways. He could hear screams of fear coming from all but the center corridor. From that one, he could hear four people yelling about how they had to find the escaped prisoners. " Okay, the wolves are down that one, and all the hostages down the others." He said. " Okay, so, we split up then?" " yeah. Girls, you and Andy take the first hall. Dave, you take Larry, Raya and Debbie and go down the second. Mom, you , Xavier and the kids get the last one." " which leaves us the hall with the wolves." Simon said. " Exactly. While we keep those monsters busy, you all get everybody you possibly can out of here." " Right!' " Dave, take these." Xavier said, throwing Dave a set of knives he'd brought along. " Just in case." Dave nodded, gave the two extra knives to Larry and Raya and told Debbie to stick close to him. " Larry, give Debbie your knife." Raya said. " But.." Dave said. " Dave, she needs to be armed too. Besides, I brought Larry's cane." " Well, alight. But, you be careful with that thing, Debbie." " I will, Dave." ' speaking of being armed, Vinny, let me see my gun." " How did you.." "Well, you tend to notice when a custom gun isn't where you left it." " Oh, right." She pulled it out and gave it to him. Andy checked the clip and made sure it was fully loaded. " Okay, here." " But.." "Don't worry, I got this rifle. Besides, a gun that size is more your speed. I just wanted to be sure it was loaded." " Alright." around this time, Olivia handed her father his tonfa. " I don't know how I knew, but I felt that you might need these, daddy.' " Thank you, Libby." Ben slid on his gloves, while Tom and Tony readied their staff and sword. " Ready to play hero again, Ben?" Tom asked. " Oh yeah." 'Okay, teams, let's begin the operation.' Cash said. " Operation?" Alvin asked. " You know what I mean. Anyways, let's try to do this as quickly as possible. We go in, rescue the hostages and get out like clock work." The other members nodded. " Okay. Everybody stay safe and try to tackle anything that you know you can't handle." the group nodded again. " Alright, let's get this over with." And so the groups split off. The guys immediately found the wolves. The elder Jeremiah was with them. " ah, there you are, Theodore. I see you brought some friends, good. We'll take care of them later. Marcus is ready for you now. It is time for your ascension. " " Ascend this!"

New munks

The house of silver

" Hi-yah!" Brittany shouted she kicked the lock off her third door in a row. " Exit's that way. Go on, get out of here.' She told the hostages. " No argument here." The lead man in that particular room said. He lead his fellows out. " Phew! There's a lot of these rooms." " And they all have hostages in them." Eleanor said as she picked the lock on another door. Each chipette had a different means of doing this. Katrina had an old sword, which she had brought from her house for her own protection, which she now used to cut the flimsy locks off the doors. She knew she'd have to shine and sharpen it once this was all over, lest she'd have to make Cash do it. She didn't want to have to make him do that, and in all actuality, she didn't mind doing it herself. Brittany, obviously, was merely kicking the locks as hard as she could in order to break them. Eleanor was using a hair pin to pick her locks. Jeanette, once again proving her intelligence, had brought some of Simon's various 'failed' formulas, which all happened to have the properties of highly corrosive acid conveniently enough. She had rushed home, never running so fast in her life, and retrieved these before they had gone to Dave's. She had intended to use them to halt any attack the kidnappers might have made. Now, she was using them to melt the locks off the doors." They've been at this for a long time." Katrina said. ' But I wonder why there's only four real werewolves? I haven't seen a guard wolf anywhere." Jeanette said. " I think they were waiting for tonight to turn all these pour souls. A full moon is a prime opportunity for them, I guess." Eleanor said. " That makes sense." Jeanette said. Brittany began to look around. " Hey girls." " What is it Brittany?" Katrina asked. " We're a little busy at the moment, Britt." Eleanor said. ' Yeah, I know, but.. Look at these decorations up on the walls." " About them?" Jeanette asked. " Don't they look kind of familiar?" " No, not really." Katrina said. "No, I mean what they're made of. Doesn't that look familiar?" Katrina touched the necklace she had around her neck. It was the gift Cash had given her for Christmas, and she hadn't taken it off since then. It just so happened to have a silver chain. She pulled on it, so she could see some of the chain, and compared it to the color of the decorations. " It's silver. They're all made of silver." She said.' That's what I thought." Brittany said. " Why would werewolves keep so many silver things laying around?" " Well, think about it Brittany. Tonight, they were probably going to turn all these people into Werewolves. With all those fledgling werewolves running around, they'd need a lot of silver to keep them in check." Eleanor said. " Your probably right, Eleanor. Wait, that gives me an idea." 'Well, don't keep it to yourself. Let us in on it, sis." Katrina said. ' Well, there's a lot of silver around here, right?' " Yeah." " Well, why don't we use that to our advantage?" " What do you mean?" " Well, regardless of the fact that these guys are cold blooded monsters, I doubt the guys will kill them." " Yeah, they just don't have it in them to kill anyone." Jeanette said. " Not even monsters like these werewolves." " Right. But, I do think that they've got it in them to seal them." " Seal?" Eleanor asked. " Yeah. Think about it. Werewolves recoil at the very sight of silver. So, if we hemmed them into a small space, and surround them with this stuff.." " I see what your getting at." Katrina said. "Take their advantage and make it our own, that's brilliant. Your a genius, Brittany." Jeanette said. " Tell me something I don't already know, Jeanette. That's what we'll do, but first, let's get these people out of here."


	103. Chapter 103

New munks

Vinny's horror

" Alright, this here's a jail break. Let's move people!" Tom called. " You heard the man. Move it!" Tony yelled. Vinny was acting as a guard and guide. If anything came down this hallway after them, and it wasn't friendly, she was instructed to stop it. But, nothing had come, so she only served as a guide for the escaping hostages. " The exit is that way." She told the lead person in every group of hostages, so that they could lead the rest out. Vinny was shocked, down right horrified to see some of the people that ran past her. Some had been severely beaten, most likely because they'd tried to fight back against the wolves and were punished for it. She had seen people who had to lead by the hand by someone else, because they two, swollen shut, black eyes and couldn't see. Others had the biggest bruises she had ever seen all over them. One man she saw was a native American, and he had been beaten so badly that he could barely walk. Twice he fell, and had to be helped up by, what Vinny assumed was his daughter or possibly granddaughter, before he made out of the hall. His skin looked like a checker board with all the large dark bruises that criss-crossed his body. And still there were others. Others who hadn't been beaten, but were still probably worse off. These people looked to be starving. As if they had had no food for quite some time and were willing to eat just about anything at this point. Some she could only describe as 'emaciated', as they were so skinny that she could see their ribs and other bones through the skin that didn't have clothing covering it. Clearly this hall housed the prisoners that had been here the longest. Vinny tried to compare this to things she had seen. She tried comparing it to old documentaries she had seen on the times of slavery or the holocaust. But, while this was similar, it was also very different. Despite her racking her brain she could find nothing to compare this too. It wasn't as bad, she figured, as the holocaust or the time of slavery, but it was definitely the most horrifying thing she had ever seen. She was sure this would give her nightmares for some time to come. And what surprised her most was the fact that Xavier and the kids were just taking it in stride. She knew they had seen some things but, surely this had to effect them at some level. She wondered if they were so used to facing the forces of evil that nothing surprised them any more. She thought if it was possible that they had met so many bad people and had seen the things they had done that they had been desensitized to the whole thing. " To them, this is just a job." She thought. " No it's not, Vinny." Tom's voice echoed in her head. " This is them doing what they want, which just so happens to be the right thing to do." " I suppose your right, dear. Nothing in life is a chore if you like doing it." " And they love being heroes, so let them have this." Vinny nodded. But, she couldn't help but wonder what they would be like if they lived the lives of normal kids. " Probably bored out of their minds." She thought. She concluded that this was their lot in life and doing all she could to help them was hers. " Grandma!" She heard Helen call. " What dear?" ' We're done, Grandma. Let's go see if any of the others need help." " Oh, okay." As they returned to the lobby, they ran into the other two groups. " you get them all out?" Brittany asked her daughter. " We sure did, mom. You?' " Yeah, and we have a plan." " lay it on us." Brittany told them her plan. ' I love that plan." Raya said. " My mother, the genius, ladies and gents." Eliza said. "Why does everyone keep saying that? You'd think that your all surprised that I can have a bright idea. Jeez, give me some credit."

New munks

Return of the kings

While the others headed down the boys chosen hallway, the boys themselves were finding out exactly how difficult it was to fight werewolves who fully embraced their werewolf nature. They recalled the Albino werewolf from years back. It was big, but it was still small compared to these guys. They had to be eight feet tall, easily. Simon didn't understand how the human body could become so big. But, he remembered what poor old Eli had been like prior to being cured of Frankenstein's influence. He knew that it was pushing the limits, but it was possible. Though he wished it wasn't. For not only were these monsters big, they inhumanly powerful. The only Time any of them could remember being hit as hard as they were now was when they had fought Atticus back in Australia. " Son of a.." Alvin said as he shook off Henry's last attack.. He had to take on Henry, while Theodore fought William and Simon fought Marcus. Cash was fighting Jeremiah but, for some strange reason, he had not transformed. But that didn't stop him from being incredibly powerful. " Guys!' The girls called. Seeing that the wolves, at least most of them, had been wounded by the guys to the point that they had to transform, the girls thought it would be easiest to trap them. They held the silver objects high above their heads and hemmed the monsters into a corner where, thanks to the silver, they reverted to normal. Now out of their werewolf state, they were no longer healing from the deep wounds the guys had inflicted and lost consciousness thanks to the blood loss. Seeing his minions so easily defeated, Jeremiah flew into a rage and immediately began to change into the largest beast any of them had ever seen. He was so tall that, when he was fully changed, he had to stoop over to keep his head from hitting the ceiling. " You bitches!' He roared and slammed his massive paw into the others, pinning them all to the wall. The massive impact knocked them all out. When the guys went to strike back at him for this, he merely swatted them away. " We tried to allow you the chance to have real power, true freedom like we do. And how do you repay our kindness? You break into our home, disrupt our ceremonies, injure my servants and dare to use silver against us! You are all unworthy of this power!' Jeremiah started to make very little sense. Clearly, he was so angry that it was clouding his mind and he wasn't able to form sentences so well anymore. But, one line the munks did understand. " As punishment for your crimes against our kind, you will watch as I devour all of your little friends!" " No!" The munks tried to stop him, but he held them to the opposite wall with one massive paw whilst he picked his first victim with the other. He picked up, of all people, Vinny first. "She looks delicious." The others came to at about this time and were horrified to see what was going on. Vinny awoke to find her staring down the enormous wolf's gullet. As he prepared to drop Vinny into his over sized maw, he became aware of a feeling of violent shaking coming from his other hand. " Our mother! We must save our mother!" Two voices both yelled inside the munks minds. Everyone that was present in Australia that fateful night knew what this was. " It's happening again!" Eleanor said. " The resonance." Katrina said. " They're merging again." Brittany concluded. The usual changes took place but, just like before, the guys normal minds stayed in complete control. Then, Theodore looked up. " If you know what's good for you, you'll set our mom down!" The four brothers then kicked free of the monster's grasp. " And we mean now!"

New munks

A new home

" I think not!" The monster said. He then swiped at the four, but they easily avoided it. Alvin then leapt up onto Jeremiah's arm, ran up to his elbow, then leaped at his other hand. He caught Vinny in mid-air, and tore her free from the beast's claws. This rescue cost Vinny her robe, leaving her clad in just her night gown, but that really didn't matter. " You stay here." Alvin said. " I have feeling this is going to get very loud." Andy, Dave, Larry and Xavier placed themselves in front of the others. They intended to be the first line of defense should something happen. Alvin then returned to the fray. By this point, Cash was holding Jeremiah's hand above himself. The creature intended to squash him, but the merged munk was too strong for that to happen. Cash sunk his claws into the palm of the wolfs paw and began to slash away. " You bastard!" Jeremiah cried and tried to smack Cash. Alvin stepped in and held the creatures hand back. Simon and Theodore took this opportunity to jump onto Jeremiah's arm and proceed up to his back. Alvin let go once they were in place, and he and Cash rolled out of the way. Because he had been pressing against Alvin's firm grip, Jeremiah's hand flew into the wall once released, damaging it extensively. Using this temporary distraction, Cash and Alvin proceed to climb up Jeremiah's other arm and up to his face. They each placed themselves in front of one of the monster's eyes and then punched him square in the pupil. Jeremiah roared in pain and flung his head back. Using the momentum of this fling, the red and black clad munks got themselves onto Jeremiah's back, along side their green and blue clad brothers. The four each then put their claws to work again and slashed at Jeremiah's back. The blinded monster reached for them, but like an irritating itch, he could not reach them. He hunched over a little more, in an effort to get a better chance to grab the four. Meanwhile, the munks dashed off the crest of Jeremiah's back and leaped high into the air. They all brought their knees crashing down into the monster's skull. The combined impact was enough to knock the creature's head down into the floor. And that heavy crash knock the massive, elder werewolf out colder than a tombstone. He promptly shrank and reverted back to his human form. The brothers got up, took two steps towards their shocked family and then collapsed. No one that had seen the fight with Atticus understood this. When they had fought the supposed ' perfect vampire' they had easily defeated him and still had energy left over. No one could come up with answer and they all began to talk about it. Andy, the only one not involved in the conversation, spoke up. " Look." He said loudly to get the group's attention. " For whatever reason, they passed out. And yes, I know that was their 'merged state' again, and I know how the fight with Atticus went back in Australia, but that doesn't matter right now." " Andy's right. They're exhausted. We should get them home first, and figure this out later." Katrina said. Moments after the munks left, a certain band of folks came strolling up. " Seems the munks did our work for us again." ' Yes brother, and they provided us that new base we've had our eye on." They looked to the other four. "Stay here." The two leaders strolled inside and, moments later, four gun shots rang out. The leaders returned. " What was that about?" Claus asked. "We just used silver bullets. They're the only way to kill werewolves. Have some men clear out the bodies while we return to our old rickety place for our things. Oh, and welcome to our little group's new home." The male lead said.


	104. Chapter 104

New munks

Review

With their husbands resting easily in the other room, the chipettes sat in the massive dining of Xavier's house. They were discussing their most recent adventure with all those involved. " Man, werewolves, werewolves, werewolves! If I ever see another wolf, of any kind, again, it'll be too soon." Brittany said. " Amen, sister." Katrina agreed. Vinny seemed distant. Brittany maneuvered herself to the other side of the table and plopped down next to her beloved mother-in-law. " What's the matter, mom?" she asked. " Oh, nothing Brittany." " Vinny Chipmunk, your a lousy liar. Now tell us what's bothering you." " Nothing really." Vinny responded. " Mom.." The four chipettes said, staring at her. Vinny jumped at little when she realized that all eyes were on her. " Well... I was just thinking about what we saw tonight." " The werewolves? Pffft, they're nothing. Not when you got your own monster inside of you who's just as bad, if not worse." Brittany said, laying her hand over chest to make a point out of the 'inside' comment. " But Britt, as far as we know, mom doesn't have one." Eleanor said. " No dark Vinny?" " None that we know of." ' Well, then the werewolves were the worst she's seen. But, still, they weren't so bad." " Not so bad?! One nearly ate her! No wonder she looks scared." Katrina said. " Well.." Vinny started. The girls were so busy talking/arguing amongst themselves over what was scarier: the werewolves or the dark munks. Eventually, Andy covered their mouths. " Girls, I believe Vinny would like to speak." " Yeah, mom can settle this. You tell us which is scarier mom." Brittany said. " Well, the wolves were pretty scary. That one nearly at me after all." " Thank God for my Alvy, huh?" " Oh yes. And, though they're a part of your psyches, the dark munks will always scare me. Not because they're particularly freighting or anything, but because I'm afraid that, every time one of you changes, that'll be the time that you never come back. Above anything else, I'm afraid of losing you all." Brittany put her arm around her mother-in-law. " Aw mom, don't think like that. Remember, we all love you, and no matter strong the darkness inside us becomes, it'll never be strong enough to keep us from coming back to the ones we love." " We'll never leave you." Eleanor said. ' I'm afraid that your stuck with us.' Jeanette joked. ' I wouldn't have it any other way." Vinny said. " But, I believe I still haven't answered your question over what scared me more, have I?' " No, I don't think you have." Brittany said. " In all honesty, while both are scary, and tonight was the second time in my life that I've come this close to being surely eaten by something larger than me, neither of those scared me as much as what I saw during the actual rescue itself." " What in the world did you see?" Katrina asked. " I saw the people, Katrina, I saw the people. Xavier and the kids, I believe, were too busy breaking them out to notice, but I did. Some had been beaten for one reason or anther. One man could barely walk, he'd been beaten so badly. Others looked to be starving. Some I could see the bones through the skin. I know I'll have nightmares for a while. But still, I wish that there was something more I could do to help them." " We did all we could, mom. We can only pray that they found some other good people to help them once we set the free." Eleanor said. "I suppose your right, Eleanor." " Hmmm." " What is it Brittany?" " We all left our houses at around 11, and we've still got a minute till midnight." " That only took an hour? Wow." " It's still mom's birthday girls." " Oh yeah, so.." " Happy birthday, mom!"

New munks

To make the ultimate werewolf

" Thank you girls." " I hope it's been a good one, despite all that's happened tonight." Jeanette said. ' Well, the parts that didn't scare the daylights out of me were great." Vinny joked. ' See, everything's gonna be fine, especially if Mom's cracking jokes." Brittany said. The gang laughed a little. " Mom?" " Yes, Tom?" "We're gonna go play games for a little bit." " Okay, just keep the volume down, your dad and your uncles are sleeping." " Speaking of them, why'd they pass out again?" Brittany asked. " They looked exhausted." Eleanor said. ' But, when they did that back in Australia, they had plenty of energy left over. They were still revved up when they got up in the morning." "Well, think about this Brittany. Atticus was strong, but he was also human sized. The guys didn't have to move around as much in order to hurt him. All that jumping, climbing and running around they did, not to mention having to fight off something so big, anybody would be tired after all that." Katrina said. " So, if an enemy is big enough and strong enough, even a chipmunk in merged can exhaust himself." Jeanette said. " I'll have to make note of that. Simon will want to know that, I'm sure of it." " Make sure you put 'if the enemy is big and strong enough, even a merged state chipmunk can exhaust him or herself', Jean. I know we haven't done it yet, but that doesn't mean we can't." Brittany said. ' Right." " Speaking of big enemies, how in the world does a werewolf get that big?" Katrina asked. " I know you get a little bigger when you change and everything, but seriously. He was hitting the bloody ceiling and that had to be what? Fifteen feet high?" " Easily.' Eleanor said. " How in the world do you get that big?" " hmmm." Larry said. The girls were startled by this sudden noise. They had all but forgotten that he was still here. " What is it Larry?" Jeanette asked. ' I was just thinking about how that particular werewolf got so big. I think I know." " Well, tell us." Katrina said. " Well, years ago, before I settled here in Hollywood and met al of you, I traveled extensively, looking for a cure for my condition. I was traveling around England when I started hearing rumors." " what kind of rumors?" Eleanor asked. " The kind that only float around the werewolf sect. Apparently, there was one man who didn't think of this power as a curse, but a gift. Rather than trying to find a cure for the curse, he actually embraced his werewolf nature. In fact, the rumors said that he wanted to become the most powerful werewolf of all time. In effort to make that dream a reality, it was said that he tried to contact the devil himself. The rumors stated that he succeeded and made a deal with the dark prince. In exchange for the power he wanted, he'd give the devil his soul. I believe that man we met back there was the same man hose rumors were about." " Wow." Was all Brittany could muster. " Does it scare anybody else to think that none of this sounds too ridiculous anymore?" Dave asked. " I mean, werewolves are one thing, we know they exist. But, a whole cult of them and one who made a deal with the devil himself? Is there no limit to the amount of craziness that infects our lives." " We're talking chipmunks, Dave. Crazy lives are the door prizes you get when your born this way." Brittany said. Dave couldn't argue with that logic, though he wished his daughter-in-law was wrong. " But, what did his size have to do with the this deal?" Brittany asked. " Well, in the animal kingdom, the larger creatures are more highly respected.. The bigger you are, the stronger you are and the higher up on the chain of command you are." Jeanette explained. " So, in this case, size does matter. I see."

New munks

The final four

The munks returned home. The girls got the kids off to bed again, and then got the guys back into bed. However, they were still worried about their husbands. They had no serious injuries but, when the guys passed out, they had a habit of not waking up for some time. Worried that they would be asleep when their husbands returned to consciousness, the girls all stayed up, each watching TV with the volume turned down and the captions turned on. Brittany took to watching Tru TV, which happened to be running a marathon of one of their most popular shows of all time, ' Operation Repo'. This had to be their tenth season at least. Eleanor watched food network, which was currently showing an episode of " Emeril Live' that she hadn't seen yet. " This must be a new one." She thought. They had stopped having new episodes a long time ago, due to an argument over Emeril's contract, but in recent times, that had all changed. Now, Eleanor had new episodes to watch. Jeanette watched the discovery channel and Katrina watched Animal planet. However, they both changed the channel when two specials on wolves came on simultaneously. At around three in the morning, the guys woke up. Finally, everyone could go to bed the way they were supposed to. A week's time passed. All had been relatively quiet. Today, the munks were in the studio with their kids. Harry and Charlene were present as usual, and they had their kids with them. While eight members of the combined twelve were telling jokes and having a good time, the other four still had problems. This group consisted of Tom, Eliza, Roxy and Rex. Cash, Alvin, and Harry could only scratch their heads at this. The rest of their crews got along perfectly now, but these particular four just couldn't seem to pull it together. Both girls and both boys were in the middle of their fourth, pointless arguments of the day. " Ah, forget you." Rex said to Tom. " I got better things to do than sit here and argue with a spoiled, brainless idiot like you. Like going to the bathroom." He then walked off towards the bathroom. " Hey, get back here! I'm not done with you yet!" Tom yelled and chased after him. " I'd better go make sure they don't drown each other in the toilets." Harry said. Alvin and Cash nodded and then entered the recording booth with the others. Meanwhile, Rex was all done using the bathroom. He washed his hands and walked out to find Tom standing there, waiting. "Man, what's your problem? I can't even go to the bathroom with out you bugging me." " What's my problem? It's you! All I wanna do is have a good time with Roxy, and you keep getting in my way!" " Oh, well excuse me for not handing my sister over to you, sire! Is there anything else you'd like me to do, your majesty?!" " I'd love for you to just drop dead!" " Same here!" " Boys!' Harry yelled as he caught up to them. ' That's enough, boys." " Fine, whatever.' Rex said. He began to walk off. He then stopped and held his side. " Ow." " Are you alright, son?" Harry asked. "Yeah, my side just hurts a little. Ow!" The pain in Rex's side began to get worse. He began to stagger as he tried to walk it off. Finally, He collapsed due to the pain. "Rex!" "He's just putting on, so he can get attention. It's kinda pathetic really." Tom said. " Rex! Wake up son." " He's pretending, Harry." " Charlene! We've got a major problem!" " He's just playing possum, right?" Tom asked, not so sure that Rex was kidding around anymore. " What's wrong with him?" He heard Eliza ask. " He said his side was hurting and then he passed out from the pain." " We'd better get him to the hospital." Tom heard his father say.


	105. Chapter 105

New munks

Pure spite

The munks rushed Rex to the hospital. After an hour of waiting, Doctor Samson returned to give them the news. " Well Doc?" Alvin asked. ' what's wrong with my baby?" Charlene asked. " He's alright, right? Just some cramps or something you can give him medicine for right?' Harry asked, pleadingly. " I wish is was that simple, Harry." " What's wrong with him then?" Nikki asked. " It's his kidneys. They're.. Dying." " Dying?!" " I'm not sure how exactly, though I believe that he may have contracted a virus which is causing his kidneys to shut down and die." ' Man, when I told him I'd love to see him drop dead, I didn't really mean it. I just said it cause I was mad at him. I didn't mean for him to actually do it." Tom said." Is there anything we can do?" Harry asked. " Well, if we perform surgery immediately, remove both his bad kidneys and transplant a fresh good one, he'll make it." " Then what are you waiting for?! Do it!" Roxy shouted. " I'm sorry but, it's just to that easy. All we have on hand is human kidneys. He needs chipmunk kidneys. If we had one of those, we could transplant one into him." "Okay then, let's go. You can use me." Harry said. " I'm sorry Harry, it's just not that simple." " What? Are you saying my kidneys aren't good enough?" " Well, yes, unfortunately. You see Harry, it's not enough to just take a Kidney from you and give it to Rex, it has to be the right blood type. We have your all blood types on file. We have files for every single one of you. Your just not the right blood type Harry, and neither is Charlene." " Then what about us?" Roxy asked. " I mean, we all come from the same birth. Couldn't you take a kidney from me, or Zack, or Nikki?" ' Well, while one of your kidneys would be the right size for Rex's body, yours won't work either." "Why not?!" " Well, it's complicated. You see, Roxy, you, Zack and Nikki all take after your mother, at least in terms of blood type. Rex, though, is different. Through some random twist of fate, a one in a million shot really, Rex gets his blood type from your birth father." " So, only a kidney from his biological father will work?" Harry asked. " Or somebody with the same blood type, yes." " Oh no." Charlene began to sob. " What's wrong, Charlene? I know you had a rough patch with your ex-husband but, I'm positive that if we call him and tell him what's going on, he'll surely come. We can keep Rex going with machines for at least that long. I mean, he couldn't possibly just let his own son die." " You don't know CJ. When the divorce was finalized, he became very sore at me. He even showed up at mine and Harry's wedding, just to tell me off. He said ' if you ever need anything for the kids, don't come crying to me.' He'll never help us." " You mean, he won't save his own son, just to spite you?!" Jeanette asked. " yes." " I see then." Doctor Samson said, sounding defeated. " Then we're out of options. I promise we'll make Rex as comfortable as possible until the Lord calls him home." Charlene became a weeping mess, as did her girls. " I don't want rex to die!" Holly screamed. Helen tried to comfort her friend. Tony tried to comfort Nikki and Ben joined Helen. Eliza was just barely keeping herself together, with Olivia's help. Tom nodded to himself. He had a plan. He walked up and placed his hand on Charlene's shoulder. " Huh? Tom?" " Don't cry Charlene. I'll do it." " What?" " Doc, what's Rex's blood type?" Tom asked. " O negative." " That's mine too. I'll do it. I'll give him one of my kidneys." " We can't just let you do that Tom. Your mom and Dad have to say it's okay." " If he's serious about it, go ahead." Cash said.

New munks

The new Cash

' I am." Tom said. " Well then, lets go Tom. We need to get you two ready for surgery immediately." " Right." As Tom began to walk off with Doctor Samson, Roxy called out to him. " Tom!" Tom turned around and, with the same kind, reassuring smile that his father wore when he was committing a selfless act, said " Don't worry, Roxy. Everything's gonna be fine." He also gave her the thumbs up. " Oh, and Liz?" " Yeah?" " Keep an eye on everybody for me, ok? You know they all go to pieces with out me around to keep them together." Eliza chuckled to herself. " You got it. Now, get goin', 'Cash'.' Tom caught what Eliza meant and laughed a little. " Okay, 'Brittany'." Tom walked to the door, said goodbye with a small wave, and disappeared into the depths of the Hospital. An hour passed by and all the munks had been told was that the surgery was underway. Katrina was a little worried, but Alvin reassured her. "Hey, he's your and Cash's son. It'll take a lot more than this to finish him off." " You right, Alvin." Eliza sat next to her mother. She seemed extremely confident. ' Aren't you a little worried about Tom and Rex, baby girl?" Brittany asked. " Nah. Rex is a fighter. And, you heard what dad said. Tom's Uncle Cash's son. Tom is gonna pull through just fine." " I suppose your right." " Don't suppose anything mom, know. I don't suppose I'm right, I know I am. You should be thinking the same thing." ' Yeah, your right. Tom will be fine." " Right, the new Cash won't pass on that easy, just like the old one wouldn't." " Don't let your Uncle Cash hear you calling him old." Brittany joked. Eliza looked to Roxy, who seemed to be on the opposite end of the confidence spectrum to the one she was on. Eliza walked over and plopped down next to Roxy. Roxy paid her no attention. Eliza looked at Roxy for a moment and then put her arm around her. " What? Eliza?" " Why so glum, chum? You gotta cheer up." " Cheer up?! How can I be cheery when two guys I care a lot about are going through a life or death operation?! And, aren't you supposed to, like, be in love with my brother? And don't you love your cousin? Why aren't you worrying?" ' Because I've got faith in Tom. Not just because he's my cousin, or my Uncle Cash's son, but because he's who he is. See, when Tom wants to do something, he set his mind to it and it gets done. And when he tells you that everything is gonna be fine, you better believe it. If it was anybody else, I'd be worried. But, it is Tom and I know it'll turn out fine in the end." " I wish I had your confidence, Liz." " You should. You've got your own Tom in Rex. We both know that they're a lot alike. They're both fighters. Neither one of them is gonna let something like this be what does them in." " I guess your right." "What's with all the supposing and guessing around here?" Eliza asked, sounding like Alvin. " Don't guess, Roxy, know. Believe it. Believe in them, and it'll all be just fine." Roxy nodded. " Your right. Uh, hey, when you first started talking to me, did you call me chum? Chum as in friend?" " I sure did." " But, I thought you hated my guts." " No, I don't. Because, hating you would be like hating myself. I see a lot of myself in you Roxy. Your not as confident as I am, though your mom and dad aren't Alvin and Brittany Seville either. But, you and I are a lot alike. I guess the only reason that you and I aren't friends is because we let our egos clash too much and we started to like getting on each others nerves. But, now's not the time for fighting, now is it? So, I'm ready to bury the hatchet if you are." " Yeah, I'd like to do that, very much.' " Then let's shake on it, my friend."

New munks

They awake

Doctor Samson returned shortly after Eliza and Roxy stopped talking. " Well, Doctor?" Charlene asked. " I'm happy to report that the operation was a complete success and Tom and Rex are in a recovery room back there, doing just fine." " See, I told you." Eliza said to her new friend, Roxy. " What can I say? You were right." " Can we go see them?" Nikki asked. " Well, they're sleeping off the anesthesia right now, but I don't see why not." " Then let's go." Simon said. They entered to room, to find Tom and Rex sleeping peacefully in their respective beds. While her parents and siblings crowded around Rex, Roxy went to Tom's side first. " Listen Tom. I'm probably only gonna get to say this once before Rex wakes up. I.. I.." She swallowed hard. " I told myself I was gonna do this and I'm not gonna back down now." she thought. She nodded to herself and leaned in towards Tom's ear, so that only she could hear her say it. " I Love you, Thomas Seville." She then kissed his cheek and went to Rex's side. Both Tom and rex awoke slowly. " Easy guys, you might still be a little out of it thanks to the anesthesia." " What happened? The last thing I remember is my side hurting really bad and then it went blank after that." Rex said. " You passed out and we brought you to the hospital." Roxy told him. ' The doctor here said that both of your kidneys were shutting down and that, if you didn't get at least one good transplant soon, you'd die." " Well, I'm still around, so who gave me a kidney? You Roxy?' " No. The doctor said that me, Zack, Nikki, mom and dad weren't compatible. He said that, for one reason or another, you have our birth father's blood type, while we have mom's." " So, who gave me the kidney then?" ' Tom." Roxy said. "Really? Hmph, probably just to keep up the goody two shoes act." " Don't say that, Rex. Tom just did a great thing for you." Roxy said. " Your sister's right, Rex. That was no act, it was a genuine act of generosity. I mean, you just don't decide to give up a kidney, just to keep up an act. Besides that, you really don't understand exactly what just happened." " Then explain it to me, doc." " Well, you see, when you remove a kidney from someone, you shorten their lives. I'm not quite sure how many years get shaved off but, I do know that, every year of his life that he just sacrificed, was given to you." "So, he made my life a little longer, by making his shorter?" " Yup." " But why?" " Well.." Tom started, getting everyone's attention. " For one thing, I felt really bad. I mean, just before this whole mess started, I told you to drop dead. I couldn't stand to face Roxy if I let you do that. So, there's reason one, no wait, make that three." " Three?" " yeah, reason three: guilt. Number two was because I couldn't stand to see your mom and everybody all sad and crying. I would have given anything to make them feel better." " I see, but, I thought you hated me." " And that's reason number one. I love my cousin and your sister, a lot more than I dislike you." " You really do care about Roxy, don't you?' " I'd die for your sister, man." " Tom..." Roxy said. " I see." Rex said. He thought for a moment. " Uh, hey, now that I think about it, your perfect for my sister. I think that only someone like you could handle her. So, you can have her if you want." " Really? Well, thanks. And, Eliza's up for grabs now too, if you want her.' "Believe me I do. Uh, hey, Tom?" " yeah?" "I wanna ask you something." " Okay." " uh, I'm not sure how to ask this but, uh.. Are we, you know, cool now?" " Yeah." Tom said, extending his fist. The two pounded fists, signaling that the new munks and 'chip punks' were all friends now.


	106. Chapter 106

New munks

The cursed stone

With Tom and Rex recuperating nicely at home, life went back to normal for the munks. As normal as it got for them anyways. Simon had received yet another shipment of tablets and runes on the twee-twee tribe from Les and Justine. He was looking over the list of text that Justine had managed to decipher. Jeanette was assisting him. Tony was out visiting Tom, just to be sure his cousin was alright." I honestly can't make sense of this, Jeanette. All of this refers to an evil power, but not the one we're looking into." " I don't think the dark munks power is necessarily evil, dear. After all, it is meant to protect us and those we love." Jeanette returned. ' I suppose your right. I just wish Justine could have deciphered more of this, because I can't make any sense of it. I mean, read this bit here.' "' Lest ye wish to lose thy soul, break not the stone.' What does that mean?" " I don't know." " It couldn't be talking about this, could it?" Jeanette asked, pulling an azure blue color rock, about the size of Simon's fist, out of the bag that the tablets had come in. " I doubt it. I mean, Les wouldn't send something potentially dangerous to us, now would he?" " I guess not." " He did say that he thought it would make a nice necklace for you though, and I agree. All we have to do is drill a hole in it, run a string or something through the hole, and boom, you've got a new piece of jewelry that would make you so pretty, it would make even Brittany jealous." " Gee, you really think so?" "I know so. Jeanette, you are really beautiful, and that's not just my bias as your husband. It's my honest opinion. And that stone, as a necklace, could only enhance your beauty." " Aw, Simon.." " So, I say it's high time we wrap this up for the day, take a few pictures for reference, and then get to work on that stone. What do you say, honey?" " Sounds like a plan to me." " alright then. Now, where did I put that stupid camera? Jeez, you'd think that I'd be able to keep better track of something as expensive as a digital camera. Where did I put it? Oh, right. It's charging in the den. I'll be right back." Meanwhile, across the border, in Mexico, Justine raced to find her husband. " Les!" " What's the matter dear?" " Where is that stone?" "That blue stone we found the other day?' " Yes!" "I sent it to Simon yesterday, along with those tablets we found with it." " Oh no!" " What? Did you want it?" " No, that's not it. I just deciphered some more texts. Les, that stone is cursed." "Cursed?" " yes. According to the texts, it's the prison for an ancient evil witch that plagued the eight kings and queens, some time after the great war. The four kings battled her long and hard and finally managed to defeat her, by using two of her own spells against her. One ripped her very spirit from her body and they other sealed her in that stone, where she was supposed to remain for the rest of eternity. It said that, if she was ever released, she would surely reek a horrible vengeance upon the world for centuries of entrapment." " Oh Justine, you know how these ancient cultures are. Full of myths and legends." " But, Les, much of this is over the dark power, which your own cousins have. Many think of that as myth, but we know it's real. And, tell me I don't need to remind you of the time you thought that the curse of the mummy we dealt with wasn't real. Didn't it say that, if the tomb was opened, the mummy would rise and suck the life from the living." " Well, yes." " And what happened?" " Okay, fair enough. I'll call him." Meanwhile, Simon was half through the stone. " Simon, it's cracking!" ' Aw, come on, no. Don't..' Crack! There was burst of light and sound and Simon was knocked out.

New munks

Cathala

When Simon came to a moment later, the first thing he noticed was a throbbing headache. " Ugh, my head. What on earth was all that? Jeanette, are you alright?" He noticed Jeanette standing in front of him, but her back was turned to him. " Jeanette? Are you okay?' " Yes, I'd say I'm just fine, considering that I just got out of my centuries old prison." " What are you on about, Jeanette?" Jeanette wheeled around. Simon noticed that his wife's usually vibrant and love-filled eyes had a blank and distant look. " Is that this body's name? Well, I regret to inform you that Jeanette isn't in right now. I am Cathala!" "What in the world are you talking about, Jean?" ' Your her lover, aren't you? Wait, don't tell me. I know your name...it's... Simon! Yes, that's it, Simon." 'Of course you know my name, Jeanette. We've been married for nine years. We even have a son. Don't tell me you forgot all that." " So, this body is not a virgin one? Oh well, I suppose beggars can't be choosers. I'd prefer a virgin, but this'll work. It's young, healthy, intelligent, decently strong, and, from what I can see, not too bad looking. Yes, it's just the right vessel to serve as my new body." "What are you talking about, Jeanette?" " Listen you! I am only going to tell you this one last time. Jeanette is no more, you may as well forget that name. I am Cathala, mistress of the dark arts! Those foolish kings from the twee-twee tribe dared to stand against me and used my own magic against me. They used my own power to rip my very soul from my original form and imprison it in that stone. For centuries, I have been locked away, having to watch as my prison sat and collected dust like some mere trinket! But, now I am free. Now I have a new body and I walk the earth again!" " Uh, okay. Uh, here, Cathala. You sit right here and I'll go call the doctors to see what's wrong with your head. Maybe Charlene can help." Simon proceeded upstairs. For one reason or another, he grabbed his camera, with the pictures of the tablets saved on it, with him. " uh, hello, Charlene? Listen, I hate to bother you. I know your trying to concentrate on Rex right now but, I think Jeanette may be.." Slam! Another hand forced Simon's hand to hang up. He looked. Sure enough, it was the Cathala possessed Jeanette. "Oh no you don't! I am no disease, and I will not be ushered away after I have waited for so long." She began to tightly squeeze his hand. " You know what, Simon?" " What?" " You remind me of one of those twee-twee kings. You and sound about the same. You even have the same eyes." ' Is that so?' ' Yes, and that's no good for you, I'm afraid." " What do you mean?' ' You see, I have sworn to exact my righteous vengeance on those who wronged me, those who imprisoned me." " Where have I heard that before?" Simon thought. " But, I assume that my true adversaries have long since passed on, so, I must go for the next best thing, their modern day doppelgangers. In short, Simon, in order for me to begin my vengeance, you have to do die." Before Simon could react, Cathala, using a strength that Jeanette could never even dream she had, twist Simon's arm almost entirely around, and then threw him over towards the window. As he got up, she smiled a sinister grin and spin kicked him square in the chest, which sent him flying through the window. With sound of shattering glass, Simon landed on the hard ground outside. Cathala leaped out, yanked him up by the wrist and proceeded to slam him repeatedly into the ground. When he briefly managed to break free, Simon ran, lest his own wife would beat him to death. " Run all you want! I will find you eventually." 'I gotta find the guys!"

New munks

To save a friend

Simon ran to Cash's house, but found no one was home. He figured that maybe they had gone to Dave's for a visit or something. So, he ran down the street a bit more to Dave's house. Sure enough, everyone, even Xavier, Andy and Vinny, were present. All were making over Tom, telling him how brave he was for what he did. Simon pounded on the door. " I'll get it." Alvin said. Alvin was shocked to the state Simon was in. His blue clad brother had large bruises forming pretty much everywhere Alvin could see. " Sy, what happened?" ' Alvin, you gotta...Help....me." Simon passed out. " Somebody help me! We got a munk down!" Simon awoke about a half an hour later. "He's coming to." Simon heard Eleanor say. " Simon, what happened to you?" Dave asked. " And where's Jeanette?" Brittany asked. " Jeanette is what happened to me." " What? Jeanette beat you up? Jeez, what did you do to piss her off that badly?" Alvin asked. " I didn't do anything! Or did I? I don't know. I'm so confused right now, I barely even know what's going on." " Take a second and collect yourself Simon. Then, try to tell us what's going on." Xavier said. Simon took a few deep breaths and began to tell what happened. " Wait! Are you saying that you think Jeanette's been possessed?!' Theodore said." By the spirit of an evil witch that's hundreds of years old, yes." " So, you cracked open the stone that held this Cathala person and she possessed Jeanette?" Eleanor asked. " Yes. I should have read those tablets a little longer. Here, take a look at the pictures I took with my camera." The other munks flipped through the pictures. " We don't read in twee-twee, Sy." Alvin said. " Here." Simon took back the camera and flipped back to the first picture. "This one here translates as " Lest ye wish to lose thy soul, break not the stone.' " " So, the twee-twee must have known that this'd happen if she ever got out." Katrina said. " Exactly. And, this one here says ' Cathala, the conqueror of the northern half of the empire. She must never be released, or she will reek a horrible vengeance upon the world.' I've released an ancient monster into modern times and it's possessed my own wife. What do I do now?" " You go and fight to get her back.' Cash said. " And we'll help you." Alvin said. Theodore nodded, saying ' That's what brother's do."" But guys, our enemy's possessed Jeanette. To fight Cathala, we'd have to hurt Jeanette. I couldn't do that, and I can't let you." " Simon, we all love Jeanette, and none of us actually want to hurt her but, sometimes, in order to save a friend, you have to hurt that friend." Cash said. " I can't do it, Cash. I love Jeanette too much to ever raise my fist against her." "Yeah, in all honesty, Cash, I don't think I can fight Jeanette either, even if she isn't herself right now." Alvin said. " Me too." Theodore said. " But we don't have a choice, guys. If we don't do this, Jeanette will be lost to us forever. Do you want to live with that?" " Well, no." " Then let's figure out a way to help her get free, with as little injury as possible. Truthfully, I'd rather not actually fight her either. So, does anybody have any, non-violent suggestions?' ' Do you have any Japanese spells that could force this Cathala lady out of Jeanette?" Alvin asked. " None come to mind." ' Great. Well, then, does anybody have the number of a good exorcist?" " Maybe we can reason with her. You know, remind Jeanette who she is. Bring the real Jeanette to the surface and have her help us, by fighting from the inside, while we take care of the outside." Theodore said. " That's probably our best bet." Cash said. "Excuse me, everybody, but, have any of you seen Tony?" Helen asked.


	107. Chapter 107

New munks

Mission: save Jeanette

" Huh? He's not with you guys, Nelly?" Katrina asked her look alike daughter. " Uh-huh." the soon to be eight year old replied. " You don't think.." Alvin started. " I'd stake my life on it." Cash said. " He's gone to Jeanette." " Oh no." Simon said. " He's going to try to rescue her." " uh, Sy, incase you forgot already, we're trying to do the same thing!" Alvin said. " But alone?" " Well, no." Simon slumped into a chair. " You guys go on. I can't fight Jeanette, even if it is to save her. I'm no good to you or her. Not like I ever seem to be anyways. Not unless you need me to make or figure out some machine. But, there's no machine this time. It's all spiritual. You can handle that. Just... Make sure Tony doesn't get hurt, okay? Me, I'm gonna sit here and.. Think about how useless and stupid I am for causing all this." Alvin walked over and punched Simon in the side of the head, knocking him out of the chair. " Alvin!" Eleanor yelled. " Shhh, Eleanor. Just watch. And, so you know, I was about to do the same thing." Cash said. " Ow!" Simon yelled. " Get up!" Alvin said. " So you can hit me some more?" 'Lots, lots more. And I'm gonna keep hittin' ya until you get out of this funk. What's with you bro? I mean, you fell into the same funk when you had your plans stolen by the group and that electric cannon was made. Jeanette told us how bad you were talkin' about yourself. It's just like now. What's wrong with you man? You made a mistake, it happens. Happens to the best of us. Hell, I make them all the time. But, if there's one thing Dave taught me growin' up it's that, when you make a mistake, you learn from it and try to correct it. If your not willin' do that for them, then what kind of husband and father are you? If it was me, I'd do all I could for Britt and Liz. Come hell or high water, or the end of the freakin' world itself, I would save Brittany. Even if it killed me, I'd do it. Now, I wouldn't want to hurt Brittany in order to save her, just like how I don't really want to hurt Jeanette, but I'd realize that I'd have to. Life isn't as simple as We'd like it to be, Simon, you should know that by now. Now, if you wanna come with me and our other brothers to save Jeanette, and prove your a good husband, and keep Cathala from clobbering Tony, thus proving your a good dad, your welcome to. Me, I'm gonna go and try to catch up with Tony. Come on guys." And so the guys left to get their weapons. The kids followed them. " Simon?" Brittany asked. " He's right. He's absolutely right, Brittany. I do let the fact that I can make mistakes get to me too much. And, Dave did teach us to learn and grow from our mistakes. I see now. If no one else, Tony and I can save Jeanette." " Right, and We'll be with you all the way." Eleanor said. " Now, come one! They got one good head start on us." Brittany said. " Right." Once all the munks arrived, the fight for Jeanette began. However, as the munks luck always seemed t go south rather quickly, they had a big problem. Cathala had already tapped into Jeanette's dark side's power. She beating them all. Even Cash, despite his best efforts, had been slammed into the book case, and had all the large, and over thick book that Simon owned, fall onto his head. With all the munks down, Cathala prepared to finish them off. Tony made one last effort to stop her. HE flung his arms around his mother's waist. " No mom! They're our family! You can't kill them!" " You know, you remind me of that one twee-twee prince. Yeah, he distracted while his father an uncles got ready to do what they did to me. I think I'll kill you first!" Cathala grabbed Tony by the throat and hoisted him into the air. " 'ack' Mom..."

New munks

The battle inside

The instant Cathala had touched Tony, let alone hoisted him into the air whilst choking him, the real, repressed Jeanette began to stir. She could feel that familiar feeling of love that she got from Tony, but, for some reason she couldn't quite grasp yet, it was fading. No, more like being snuffed out. ' Uh, what's going on?' Her memory began to come flooding back to her. She remembered all that happened and even tapped into Cathala's memory somewhat in order to get an idea of what was going on right now. When it dawned on her what Cathala was doing to Tony, Jeanette began to struggle to get free. She found herself surrounded by barriers that Cathala had created to keep her down, but she began breaking them one right after the other. Once she had smashed about six of these barriers, she had enough control over herself to move her left arm and to speak. " And now I'm going break your neck! Oh, revenge is sweet!" Tony's voice box was cut off by the intense grip Cathala had on his throat. He could no longer try to cry out to Jeanette. " Tony!" Jeanette's left hand shot up to her right wrist and began to pull. " What?! No! I buried you!" "Not.. Deep.. Enough! I ...won't let you.. Hurt.. My baby!" " No1 Your ruining everything!" " Good!" " No! Get back down! Go down, right now! I command you!" " No, you don't! I command me, and no one else. Possessing me, and smashing up my house a bit is one thing, but when you try hurt my family, hurt the ones I love more life itself, and try to kill my baby boy, my flesh and blood, then you've gone way too far! Cathala, even if I have to rip my own arm off to do it, Your going down!" Jeanette began to force Cathala out of her. " No! For hundreds of years I've waited for this moment! I'm not going to let you take it away from me!" " That's what you think!" A dark shadow, which spoke with Cathala's voice began to form off of Jeanette's back. Once Jeanette had battled Cathala as far out herself as she could, Tom grabbed his and his father's swords and, using the anti-evil spirit markings on them both, sliced Cathala into pieces, thereby freeing his aunt. With roar of rage, Cathala faded out of existence. Jeanette slumped over. " Easy, Aunt Jeanette. I got ya." After he leaned Jeanette against the wall, he checked on Tony. "You okay, cuz?" " Yeah. I'm alright. 'cough, cough' A little winded, but I'm alright. How's mom?" 'Out colder than a tombstone, but okay. It's over. That spirit bitch is dead." " Good thing your mom and dad didn't hear that." " Oh, we did." Cash said, now standing beside the boys. Tom gulped. ' Nah, it's okay, Tom. I'll let that one slide, cause I was gonna say the same thing." 'Good riddance, right?" " Yup. Sure is." At this, Alvin and Theodore had gotten up. " All that anger and determination to beat Cathala, did all that really come out of our Jeanette?" Alvin asked. " It sure did, Al." Tony slumped over. " I was wondering when the fatigue would get to him. Come on guys, help me get these three to bed. We'll tell them about it tomorrow." Cash said. " Right." As they were about to leave, the phone rang. Helen answered it. " Simon Seville residence." She said. " Nell? It's Les. How are you?" " Just fine, Les." " Good to hear. Uh, what are you doing at your uncle's?' " Long story." " I see. Well, Tell your uncle to send that stone I sent him back. IT has an.." " Evil spirit in it? Yeah, we know." ' What? It happened already? I'm too late?" 'Don't worry, Cathala's dead. Tony and Tom saw to that." " How did..' " Another long story. We'll tell you about it later." " I see. Well, guess that's what I get for having the closest phone be in a town twenty miles from the dig."

New munks

Off to scenic Mexico

A few days of recovery later, the munks received a call from Todd. He said that he'd booked them for a gig in Mexico city, Mexico at the end of the week. They'd leave Sunday, after church of course. Thinking of this as a much needed vacation after their recent adventures, the munks happily agreed to it. They even asked if Harry and Charlene could have time off so that they and the kids, knowing they needed a day or two off after the scare Rex gave them, could come. " I think that can be arranged. I won't even count it as them using their vacation time. I know they need it, so I won't count it against them." " Your one in a million, Todd." Alvin had responded to this. To pass along the good news, the new munks had gone over to their new found friends house. " Wait a minute! You mean we get to go to Mexico with you guys?!" Rex asked Tom and Eliza. " you sure do. I take it your psyched?" Tom asked. " You better believe it!" "You know Rex, I hear the sunsets there are very romantic." Eliza said, gently rubbing against him. " Uh.. Is that so? I guess we'll just have to see for ourselves, huh?" "ha-ha, I guess we will, 'honey'." " Liz is getting bolder with Rex." Tom noted. ' Maybe I should step up with Roxy." He thought. " But first, I'm gonna take in as much surfing as I can." Rex said. " You surf?" Tom asked. " Yup. Haven't gone in a while, but I think that I can still hang. What about you, Tom?" " I surf whenever the tide is good and I hear that the tide's pretty much always good off the coast of Mexico. Hey, maybe the twelve of us could go surfing." " That's exactly what I was thinking." "Well, they say great minds think alike." The kids laughed. " I knew they'd be good friends if they could just get over their differences, and this proves it." Charlene said. " Yeah, and all it took was Tom saving Rex's life to do it." Harry said. " Does how it happened really matter?" " I suppose not." " I'll bet you were really scared, huh Tony?" Nikki asked her would-be boyfriend. None of the girls had made the plunge yet, but all the parent munks, Harry and Charlene included, felt that it was almost time for it to happen. " Well, kind of. I was more worried about my mom than myself. Imagine, if you will, Charlene possessed by an evil spirit and choking out. What would be going through your mind, Nikki?" " Honestly? Well, not to sound shallow but, all I'd be thinking would be 'Crap! I'm gonna die. Killed by my own mom.' " " I guess I just think differently than you." " I guess so. Not that it's a bad thing. It's really something to be scared that your going to die, but be more worried over somebody else. That takes guts, I think. More than I got, that's for sure.. Makes you look like a hero and, well, it's kinda cute." " Oh, just say you love him already, Nikki." Jake said. " Mind your own business, 'baby bro'. Remember, mom and dad are gonna go out tomorrow and guess who's in charge of you in particular?" Jake gulped. " I'll just be quiet now." "Yeah, you do that." Holly laughed. " Your lucky Helen's around and likes you Jakey, cause your pathetic." " Need I remind you whose twin you are?" " Shut up! I'm no coward like you." " Did you not say that you almost peed yourself when that Gina lady started snapping off fireballs at us?" " Oh shut up, or I'll get Nikki on you." " Is it always like this around here?" Olivia asked Zack. ' yeah, pretty much. But, the way I figure it, if they aren't fighting, then they don't love each other anymore. If you see them stop fighting for any long period of time then something is wrong." " I'll keep that in mind." The door bell rang. " I'll get it." harry said. " CJ!" " Where's Charlene? We need to talk!'


	108. Chapter 108

_New munks_

" _father of the year'_

" _CJ? What are you doing here?" Charlene asked her ex-husband. CJ, as if he was a welcome guest, came in and sat down close to where Nikki and Tony were sitting. " I'm here, for them." CJ said, putting his hand on Nikki's head. " What?!" Harry shouted. Nikki brushed her actual father's hand off her head. " Yeah, what are you talking about, CJ?" she asked. ' You'll call me dad." ' Uh, no. My dad's name is Harry, not CJ." Nikki and her brothers and sister were always well aware that Harry wasn't their birth father, but that didn't matter to them. He was the only father they had ever known. He loved them as his own and they returned the feeling. "Whatever. Nikki, take your brothers and sister upstairs and pack your things. From today on, you'll be living with me." " You can't just barge in here and say your taking the kids!" Harry shouted. " You can't do that! You don't have any shred of custody over them. None whatsoever. You can't take them!" Charlene said. " Oh, I don't think that really matters. Because, from what I hear, I'll take far better care of them." "What are you talking about?" Harry asked. ' I was contacted by a doctor here in Hollywood. Samson I think his name was. He told me that Rex's operation was a success. When I asked 'what operation?' He explained it all to me." " This is about that?! If we'd known sooner, we would have done what we could to prevent that whole ugly mess." Harry said. " Oh, according to the good doctor, you should have noticed." " What?" " He said, the disease that cause Rex's problem, doesn't do the kind of damage it did to Rex over night. It takes time to set in. But, he told me, while it's setting in, it'll cause constant discomfort to the affected." " So that's why he was favoring his side so much." Charlene said. " And you didn't notice. Just like I thought. Your not being a very good mother, now are you, Charlene. You didn't sense something was up when you saw Rex favoring his side?" ' So what? We made one mistake. It's not like the court would hang it over our heads." Harry said. " Oh, but once they hear all that happened because of that neglect, I'm sure they'll think twice. Not only that, your an ex-con Harry. Not a very good person to raise children around, now is he, Charlene?" " Well I.." " Face it. Once I present all of this to a court, the kids are as good as mine. You might as well give them to me and let us be on our way." Harry and Charlene stood silent. They were racking their minds, trying to find something they could use against CJ. " I'll take the silence as your admission that I'm right. Come on kids." " No." Roxy said. " What was that, Roxanne?" "Don't you dare call me that! Only my mom and dad can call me that. I'm miss Chipmunk to you, got it?" " Are your disrespecting me?!" " If the shoe fits. I'm not going anywhere. None of us are. This is our home. Here, with mom, dad, Jake, holly and our friends, the Seville's." " Your coming with me and that's final!" " Not on your life!' Rex said. Angry that his children weren't listening to him, CJ kicked Rex to the floor and grabbed Roxy by the back of the head. " Forget your things. Your coming now!' He began to drag Roxy away by the hair. " No! Mom, Dad! Stop him! I don't want Roxy to go away!" Holly yelled. The parents were still trying to figure out what they could possibly do right now. " Somebody stop him! He's taking my big sister away!" Jake yelled. " Stop struggling, Roxy!" CJ said. Roxy kicked backwards, into her father's shin. This released her. " Why you little!" CJ geared up to slap Roxy. When his hand was an inch from her face, his hand stopped. " What?" Tom was holding CJ's hand in place._

_New munks_

_Cj and the new munks_

" _Hit her, and I'll break every bone in your arm." Tom said. " Tom?" Roxy asked. " I've stood here and listened all I can. I've stood all I can stand, and I can't stand anymore. You want her, you go through me." " Me too." Tony said, standing firm in front of Nikki. " Me three." Ben said, taking his position by Holly. " And us four, five and six." Eliza said, speaking for the rest. " And trust me, we may be small, but we can really bust you up." "This is none of your business. Get out of my way." " None of my business? I don't think so. Your trying to take some of my good friends away from the people who love them, and that includes us. See my cousin over there? The one in pink? She's in love with your son, Rex." " Tom! You don't need to tell everybody." Eliza said. ' Let me handle this Liz. You just keep everybody off to the side. Less collateral damage, should a fight break out." Eliza caught her cousin's look. It was as if she was looking at a younger version of her uncle Cash. " Okay then. Everybody move." " Now then, where were we? Oh yeah. My cousin, Liz, is in love with Rex, and Rex is a good buddy of mine. In fact, it was me that gave him the kidney he needed to live. More over, my cousin Olivia, the girl in green over by Liz, loves Zack, and he ain't too bad to me either. And finally, my best friend in the world, my cousin Tony, loves your daughter Nikki. You put all that together, I got every reason in the world to stop you. Because, I love my family, and to take away the ones they love would be the same as physically hurting them, and that's something I can't allow." " He really has turned into uncle Cash." Eliza thought. " He sounds like dad. Go, big bro, go." Helen thought. " That's a nice speech kid, but I really don't care." " You want more? Fine. Here's the biggest reason for me to stop you of all. If I let you take Roxy, you'd be taking away my.." He looked to Roxy, and both nodded to each other. " My girlfriend." " Pfft, yeah sure. If Roxy's anything like her mother, it isn't that simple to land her." "Okay, let me explain something to you. All these years, you've never had anything to do with these guys. You know nothing about them, except their names and that's about it. You don't know what Roxy's really like, unlike us. Plus, you don't know me. You have no clue what I'm like. On top of that, you don't know what we've been through together." " I still don't believe it." " Believe what you want, but it's true. I.. I love Roxy. I know young boys like me aren't supposed to be able to say that, but, then again, I'm not like most boys. I can say that, with the utmost confidence. I love Roxy, and that said, I won't let you take her. You want her, you go through me, and to take me down right now, you'll have to kill me." That line struck CJ. Here was this young man who loved his daughter so much, he was willing to stake his life on her. " That goes for me too. I won't let you take Nikki away from me." Tony said. ' Tony.." Nikki said. " And if you try to hurt my cousins, or Holly.." Ben said, looking at Holly, who looked about ready to pounce on CJ. " I'll knock you out colder than an iceberg." Ben said, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. " Look, I don't really want to hurt you guys. I just want my kids to be safe. They won't be here. I'm doing this because I love .." " Because you love them?!" Tom scoffed. " If you loved them, you'd have made an effort to be with them over these years. Even if Charlene got remarried, if you loved these guys, you would have been a part of their lives." " Tom's right." Rex said. " You don't really love us. You don't even know us. Your not our dad."_

_New munks_

_The guys' reward_

" _Your not our dad." Rex repeated. " Our dad's name is Harry Chipmunk." " He's not your real dad. He's not blood, like me." " That doesn't matter. You see, if there's one thing I've learned from Tom and his cousins, and I guess I should have learned this from my own family a long time ago but, if there's one thing I've learned, it's this. Family is what you make of it. Holly and Jake, for example. They're actually only our half brother and sister, yet we look at them no differently than we would if they were our full little brother and sister. They're just our baby brother and sister to us. And, more importantly, our dad is Harry Chipmunk. All these years, he's been the only father we've ever known. The only one we've ever had. He's raised us as his own. He loves us, and we love him. IT doesn't matter if your related by blood, cause that's not what family is really about. Family is about who you care about. Tom and his cousins, they have a huge family, and over half of it isn't related to them by blood. All of it is what you'd call ' friends of the family', but to them, they're 'family' period. That adds up to a lot of people who'd give they're lives for these guys. In fact, I've lost count of how many people they call family. At last count, I think it was over twenty. Over twenty people they call family, over twenty people they love and get love back from, and they're not related to them in anyway. And us, well, we're not much different than them. To us, whether he's related to us by blood or not, Harry is our dad. You may be the one who's blood we got in our veins, but he's the dad we know and love. So, go ahead and try to take us. We'll just run away and come right back here. And we'll keep doing that until you get the message. This is where we belong. Here, with the ones we love. And, even if only Liz was left, I'd still stay. Because, with her is where I, in particular, belong. And here is where I.. WE, are going to stay, got it?" The look in all twelve kids eyes told Cj that they were dead serious. Their feet were planted and nothing would move them. " I see... Charlene?" " Yes?" " Did you and Harry put those guts in them?" "I guess so." " I see... I've pegged you guys all wrong. I.. Can't take these guys away from here. I do, in fact, actually love my kids. It's just that, I've been so mad at Charlene over the divorce, I've let it cloud my mind. If not for that, I'd have been a bigger part of my kids lives. All I want is for my kids to be happy. And, if staying here with their friends and Harry, then by all means. I won't bother you anymore. I'm...sorry. I've been a grade A asshole to you guys. I hope you can forgive me. I'll leave you guys alone. But, before I go, Rex, Zack?" " Yeah?" " Promise me something." " What?" " That you'll keep looking out for those you love. For your family. And.. Promise me, my sons, you won't do the things I've done. Don't start any trouble if you can. And don't think of it as weak to turn the other cheek. I hope your old enough to understand. Do you?" " Yeah." " Good. Well, I'll be going. And Char? If they need anything, don't hesitate to call." And with that, CJ left. " You did it again Tom. Turned another persons attitude completely around." Helen said a few minutes later. " It's a gift." " Tom?' " Yeah, Roxy?" "Tony?" " What Nikki?" " Could you come with us, to our rooms for a sec?" " Okay." Once inside, the girls shut their respective girls. ' Sit." Nikki said, pointing to her bed. " Tony.. That back there.. Were you really willing to fight for me?" " Of course. I care a lot about you Nikki. I wasn't going to let him take you away." " I see. Tony?" " Yeah?" " I.. I love you!" Then Nikki kissed Tony. Meanwhile, in Roxy's room. " Tom?" " Yeah?" " Where does that gift come from? That ability to turn people around like you do?" ' Uh.. My dad I guess. He does that sort of thing all the time. But, I guess really, it's all me. I might get the idea from him, but that's just the starter. What I do from there is all me. So, I guess it's a bit of both my dad and me.' "I see. Okay, tell me something else." "Like what?' ' Was that whole thing, you know, what you said, was all true? You love me, and you'd be willing to fight for me? Break every bone in CJ's arm?" " Don't forget that whole spiel about how he'd have to kill me in order to get to you."" Exactly my point. Was all that just an act to scare him off or.." " Oh, I see where your going with this. No, Roxy. That wasn't an act. I meant every word of it. If he had really hit you, I'd have broken him in half, one way or another. And that line about how I love you? That's true too. I don't know exactly what is about you Roxy, but, I can't help but love you. Maybe it's because of the fact that your not impressed by my rock star lineage. You don't want to be with me just because of who's kid I happen to be, like some of the other girls I've met. Your, I don't know, different, from them. And that's good. Those girls, none of them really interested me. I'd go out with them because they asked, or because I didn't have anything better to do, or maybe even because I was desperate for a date to some dance. For them though, I had to act like the son of the rock stars that I am. I had to play the role of the stereotypical rock star son. But, with you, I don't have to play " Tom, the son of Cash and Katrina Seville.' in order to impress you. I can just be me, which I love being. I'm not much of an actor anyway. You know, your the only girl, outside of my family, who knows the real me." " Well don't I feel special? Ha-ha, but seriously. That was all true?" " How many times do I have to say it? Yes! Yes! A thousand times, yes!" " I see. Tom?" " Yeah?" Roxy pinned Tom to the wall. " I've said this to you once already but, you were asleep then. It was just after your and Rex's surgery. You were still knocked out. So, when I realized that you probably didn't hear me, I decided, when the opportunity presented itself, I'd say it again. Tom.. I love you." she then kissed him. Tom was surprised but tried his best to force that away. He wanted to enjoy his first real kiss. When she broke away, he said ' whoa! No wonder dad looks funny after mom kisses him. Wow!" " He-he." Roxy giggled. " Tom?" " Yeah?" " You saved my brother from certain death, well, actually all three if I remember one particular incident correctly." " Oh, with Ken? Yeah, Me and the guys beat him and protected Rex and others. But, then, we did it just cause I like beating up Ken. Too bad he's a good guy now. I liked kicking his sorry tail." " Even so, you've protected brothers, saved Rex's life, and just now, you saved me from having to leave the family I care about so much. You've done so much for me already, that I hate to ask you for anything else." " Oh, it's no problem. Ask away. Something need fixing? Just tell me and I'll get some tools and see what I can do." " Well, something doesn't need fixing, but improving." " And that would be?" " Our relationship.' " Huh?" " What trying to say is, Tom, will you have me as our girlfriend?" " Like I gonna say no? Of course. I've wanted this ever since the dance." " So, yes?" " Yes." Roxy jumped for joy. She'd never been so happy. She couldn't describe the feeling, so she did the only thing her mind told her to, kiss Tom again. Once everyone was down stairs, the girls joined hands with their respective boys, signaling to everyone what was going on. To keep up with their sisters, the other four quickly coupled up with their respective partners. " Finally!" Eliza said, as Rex asked her to his girlfriend._


	109. Chapter 109

New munks

Flight

Come the end of the week, all Seville's, Dave, with Debbie in tow, included, were en route to Mexico. With Harry, Charlene and their kids, not to mention Xavier, Vinny, Andy, Jason, Heather, Little Cash and baby ginger of course, along for the ride, the plane was the fullest it had ever been, but they all still had a bit of breathing room for themselves. Katrina and Cash watched as their children sat/cuddled with their significant others. In fact, Tom and Roxy appeared to mimicking them. Cash was reading a book on Judo, and Katrina was cuddled up along side. Tom was also reading a book, this one on a Vietnamese fighting style called moi-tai, with Roxy cuddle next to him. Helen was giving Jake a crash course in the physics of her powers, showing him how many different things she could manipulate at one time, and in how many different ways, with her mind. Theodore, with his actual son and possible daughter-in-law, were sleeping. Rex, Eliza, Zack and Olivia were looking at a map of Mexico city, and marking out all the places the twelve should go to while they were there. Chief amongst these, in Rex's mind at least, was where the best surf most likely was. " Nikki, you want something to drink?" Tony asked. ' Uh, yeah. What do we have, Tonster?" " Tonster?" Simon asked Jeanette. " Aw, it's just a cute little nickname. It shows she loves him. Say, do you want me to start calling you something like that, Simon?" " Uh, no. Dear, honey, darling or just plain Simon is fine, Jeanette." " Um, we got Mountain dew, root beer, coke, both regular and cherry , and uh, some kind of pink lemonade I've never heard of before." " Root beer is good with me." " Okay, there you go. As for me, I'm gonna stick with my addiction, mountain dew." " so you really like mountain dew, huh, sweetie? I'll have to remember that." " Heck, between me and Tom, we could probably kill a whole pop aisle's worth of mountain dew in a day if no one stopped us." " Wow. Remind me to never let you go and get us pop." " You don't like mountain dew?" " Not as much as you do. I'm a coke girl, and proud of it." " I see." " So, what places are we hitting up guys?" Tom asked the ones looking over the map, without looking up from his book. " Um, well, here, here, and here are reported to be the best surfing spots." Rex said. " They all look good." Tom said. " " And after we dry off, we're going here!" Eliza said, pointing to the largest mall on the map. " A mall? Seriously Liz? Come on, we got huge malls at home. We're on vacation. Be a little more original." " Tom, it's pointless to argue with her. You know she won't rest until she's bought something in every country on the planet." Helen said. " you got a point, baby sis." " You see how much my family loves me?" Eliza asked. " Hey, you still got me. I love you." " That's right. No matter what the young mister and miss Seville say, I still got you, Rex. Thank god for that. And, I love you too.' Brittany and Charlene winked to each other. Brittany brought her hand up to her ear. " Hey, Char? You hear that?" " Yeah, I think I do." " Hear what?' Eliza asked. " The pitter patter of the little feet of our grandchildren." Brittany said. " Say what?!" Eliza yelled. " Mom! We're just nine years old! We're not even old enough to be thinking about where babies come from, let alone about making our own." " And yet you know how the process works." Brittany continued to kid her daughter. " Blame the internet!" Eliza yelled back. ' Relax Lizzy. Your mom's just joking." Alvin said, finishing what he'd been doing for the last few minutes, vigorously scratching every inch of his head. ' Ah! Nothing like a good scratch!"

New munks

New munks to the rescue

The next day, after an hour of surfing, the parental munks had to go off to make preparations for the concert that night. " You guys stick close to Andy, got it?" Cash asked. " We got it." The thirteen kids returned. ' You sure the thirteen of them isn't too many for you, Andy?" " No, I'll be alright." " We could ask mom or Xavier to.." " It's seriously alright, Cash. Let Vinny and Xavier enjoy themselves. I can take care of this army for a few hours, no problem. Okay, cool. Well, we'll see you guys later. Love you guys." " We love you too, daddy.' Helen said. Helen kissed her father's cheek and Katrina kissed both her children's cheeks, and even gave a peck to Roxy and Jake for good measure, and then the last two parent munks were gone. " your mom's really nice huh?" Jake asked. Rubbing his cheek where Katrina had kissed him. ' That's just proof that she likes you and approves of you being my boyfriend, hehe." Helen giggled. " Alright, you lot, no that all the hugs, kisses and surfing are out of the way, what do you want to do now?" Andy asked. " How about we go exploring?" Tom asked. " We haven't been to Mexico for a while, and we haven't ever been to Mexico city." " Good idea Tom. And we can start here." Eliza said, pulling out her map and pointing to the map. ' The mall again? Come on, Liz." Tom complained. " Can't this be the one vacation that you don't drag us to the closest mall?!" Eliza only looked at Tom. ' uh, bud, I think it's best not to argue with her on this one.' rex said. " I gotta go with Rex on this one, honey." Roxy said " She looks like she'll take your head off if she doesn't get what she wants." " 'sigh' fine, drag me away.' Eliza grabbed Tom and Rex by the wrist and hand respectively and yanked them in the direction of the mall, whilst Roxy tried to keep up with her boyfriend. " Guys! Don't walk so fast! We can't keep up!" Tony yelled. " Come on Andy!: Ben yelled. ' Coming!" An hour later, Eliza had enough skirts and tops to clothe all of the young girl munks there three times over. " What did you do, Liz? Walk into the girls section and say 'give me one of everything?' Tony asked. " I thought you were above this, Tony." "But, Liz, it looks like you've got enough clothes here for about four other girls.' " Oh, don't you start, Casper." " Don't call me Casper!" While he was named after Cash, younger Cash's full name was Casper, instead of Cassius. Both had the same reaction to their full name's however. " I swear, one of these days, my parents will pay for that name. Pay I tell you. Pay!" " Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hold this." Liz said, stuffing the pile of clothes she had now into Cash's arm and turning around. " I'm not a pack mule! And where are you going anyways?" ' To get more." " Andy, let's get her out of here, before she buys the whole store." Tony said. "I heard that!" " Uh, hey, who wants ice cream, huh?" Andy asked. " Eh, I could go for some rocky road right now." Liz said." Forget Rocky road." Tom said. "Two words: cookie dough." " Mm, that's sounds good." Roxy said. "Come on then." Andy said. Later, the kids were happily eating their ice cream when Tom noticed something. " There's something you don't see everyday." " What?" "Chinese kids in Mexico." ' Probably Asian American tourists.' Tony said. " Well, the boy is fluent in Spanish from what I can hear." " Is the little girl he's with crying?" Roxy asked. "I'm gonna go find out what's wrong." 'It's none of your business." Eliza said. " Since when has that stopped me?" " He really has turned into his dad." Andy thought. "Uh, pardoname, pero, Tengas una problema?" Tom asked.


	110. Chapter 110

New munks

How to treat family

"We speak English." The boy said. " Well, that makes my job a lot easier. So, what's wrong? Why's she crying?" Tom asked. " I told you to stop crying. I said you you'd call attention to us." " I'm sorry, Big brother." " Hey, don't yell and get all mean with her. She's just a little girl." "She's my little sister, I'll treat her anyway I please." " No you won't." Came Helen's voice. Suddenly, the boy was in the air and upside down. She maneuvered the boy over by the fountain. " How in the world?!" The boy yelled. ' Drop him, big bro?" Helen asked. " yeah, go ahead." " No wait!" The boy called. " Oh, so you decide to be a little nicer to your kid sister?" " Yes, yes! Just don't drop me. I'm scared of water and heights!" " Better bring him down, before he has an accident, Nell." " Right." " now, feeling a little chattier?" Tom asked the boy. " How, how did you do that?" " MY little sister here is psychic, and she doesn't take kindly to family mistreating family. Yell at YOUR little sister again, and I'll let her dunk you, got it?" "Y-yeah." By this time, Roxy and Eliza were trying to comfort the young girl. " What's your name?" Eliza asked. " Maria." The girl, who looked no older than six, said. " And I'm Felipe." The boy said. " You, you look Asian, but you have Spanish names. Sup with that?" Tom asked. " We're part Chinese and part Mexican. We were born in Hollywood, California, But were brought here and raised when some family business from our dad's side came up. Our mom's full blooded Chinese, and our dad's Mexican." " I see." Tom said. " We're from Hollywood too. Lived there all our lives. Oh, by the way, I'm.." " I know who you are. Thomas Seville, son of Cash and Katrina Seville of the chipmunks." " Cool, I got a reputation to proceed me." " Are you, Eliza?" Maria asked. " yeah, I am." " Alvin and Brittany's daughter?' " That's me." Maria hugged her. " Your my favorite!" Taken aback a little, Eliza hugged the little girl back. " Aw, thanks. I take it your a fan of our parents?" " Yeah, but, I listen to you guys as often as I can." " Ah, cool." " So, Felipe was it?" Andy asked. " Yes." ' What exactly is going on? Is there anything we can do?" " who's he?" Felipe asked Tom. " Andy McNab, our body guard. And these are our friends, Rex, Roxy, Nikki, Zack, Jake and Holly." "How's it goin'?" Rex asked. Felipe just nodded. ' Do you really wanna know what's going on?" He then asked. ' Wouldn't be asking if we didn't." Eliza said, trying to tear Maria's arms away from her neck. ' Well.." Maria said, dropping her arms from Eliza's neck and sounding sad again. ' It's our aunt and little cousin." Felipe said. " What's wrong with them?" Ben asked. " They've been kidnapped." " Kidnapped!?" Olivia yelled. " Do you know by who?" "Yes." Felipe said, sounding amazingly mature, despite the fact that he was only eight. " Who did it?" Andy asked. " Los Demonios." Felipe said in a perfect Mexican accent. " Uh..." " It's Spanish for the demons or the devils, Andy." Tony said. " Good thing your around, guys. I don't speak Spanish." " So, monsters took them?" Roxy asked. "In a manner. The devils, in English, are a gang that basically runs the outer part of the city, where we used to live." Felipe said. " I have a feeling this story is about to get really complicated. We'd better sit down." Zack said. " I think your right." Tony said to his chip punks counter part. And so the group sat down and readied to hear the sad tale of Felipe and Maria. " Well, It all started two years ago, shortly after Maria's fourth birthday. Mom and Dad were both detectives here in town and went to work, leaving us with our dad's sister." Felipe began.

New munks

Of Angels, Devils and Chipmunks

"From what we understand, they got called in to investigate a string of robberies in the outer city." Felipe continued. " IT turned out that the devils gang was behind it. For weeks they chased after them, but never managed to catch them. The one time they got close... The head of the devils had them killed!' This sudden admission shocked the crowd. " So, we came to live with our aunt and little cousin permanently, which wasn't so bad. It hurt to think our parents were gone but, we still had a loving family. However, the devils have recently started a gang war with the angels, their inner city rivals, for control of the city as a whole." " But how do your aunt and cousin fit into this?" Andy asked. " Well, three month a ago, the devils got low on cash. So, they started kidnapping people and holding them for ransom." "And the latest victims are your family." Felipe nodded. " Aunt Pilar owns a really well known bakery in town, so they figured a lot of people would be willing to pay a lot of money in order to get her back to making the fresh beard they love. But no one will pony up like they thought and they won't let them go until they get their money. We don't have it, so we can't pay them. But, the angels got word of all this and came to see us. They told us that, if we did a 'little job' for them, they'd rescue our aunt and cousin for us." " What did they want you to do?" Nikki asked. " See that bag?" Felipe asked, pointing to a large back pack close to him. ' yeah." ' It's full of drugs." " Drugs?! Wha, what kind?!" " You name it, it's in there. Something called speed, powered cocaine, raw marijuana, not to mention enough pain medicine and what not to stock a pharmacy." Andy opened the bag. " I'll be damned, he's not lying. Hell, there's enough drugs in here stone half the city." " Half the city?! Man, that's a lot of people getting high." rex said. Andy then realized what he had said in front of the kids. ' You know what stoned means?" " We're young Andy, not stupid. We know what taking drugs does to you, and we know all the terms: stoned, high, buzzed. Even know the names for the drugs. There's speed, meth, crack, mary jane, blow, dope.." Tom listed. " Okay, I get it. But, what do they want you to do with this, Felipe?" " Take it to the outer city. The told us where to find a big shot in the devils car. Today, we're supposed to take that bag, and put it in his car. Then, call the police and have them bust him." " Not to agree with criminals but, that sounds simple enough." " Except he has guards for his car. Since drive-bys and car bombings have gone up since the war started, he has guys watching hi car all the time. If they caught us, they'd kill us." "Not only that, we promised mommy and daddy that we'd never do anything bad." Maria said. " We even swore it again on their graves." Felipe said. " But, we don't have any other choice. We can't just let our family sit and rot. But we promised..." Felipe trailed off, obviously lost in thought. " What are we gonna do, big bro?" Maria asked, tears welling up again. ' I don't know, Maria! Why am I always the one who has to have the plan?! I'm only eight years old, God damn it! Eight! What am I supposed to do?!" Tom smiled. " Okay, here's what we're gonna do. First, your gonna watch that mouth of yours. It's not nice to talk like that around girls, especially your kid sister. Next, your gonna call the police and have them take the drugs. Have them dust them for prints and I'm sure they can nail a bunch of those angels and that should take them down for a little while, if not for good." " But, if we don't take those drugs and do what they said, they'll leave our cousins to die!"

New munks

The way of the older brother

'That's part three. Your gonna leave the rescuing to us." " What?" " We may not look it, but we know a few things about rescuing people. Leave it to us." ' Uh, Tom?" " Yes Tony?" " Can I talk to you for a second?" " Sure." The two walked about three feet away. Tony took a deep breath and " HAVE YOU LOST YOUR FREAKING MIND?!" " What?" " This is a gang war we're talking about, Tom, and we're just kids. We can't get involved." " But they're just kids too, and they're involved." " They don't have a choice." " Yeah, well, neither do I." " What?" " Maria, doesn't kind of remind you of Nell at her age?" ' Well, yeah, kinda." " My point exactly." " I don't get what your talking about, Tom." ' I made a promise, to protect Nell. I know she can fight on her own but..." " But Maria's not Nell, Tom." " Tony, you know your my best bud, and out of all the cousins, we're supposed to be the closest, right?" " Like brothers, that's what people say." "Right, well, as my surrogate brother, your gonna have to trust my judgment here." " This isn't about me trusting you, Tom. This about a bunch of nine year olds going up against armed gangsters. Armed, as in, they got guns and guns mean bullets." " Then we dodge gun fire, big deal." " It is a big deal, Tom! You can't gamble with your life, man! What do you think uncle Cash would say to this?" " But Tony, I'm doing exactly what my dad would do." "Duh, uh, uh, okay, wrong person to use. Uh, what about Aunt Katrina?" " Mom would expect it from me." " Uggggh! Come on, Tom! This is serious. This is not the time to be playing hero." " Who's playing?" Tom said, sounding exactly like his father. " If you don't wanna do this, fine. I'll do it myself." "But, why?" "because I promised." " That promise about protecting Nell again?" " No, another one." " What is it this time?" " I promised, myself." " What?" " You remember when Tara died, and I had to tell Nell?" " Yeah." ' Well, it might have seemed to have gone smoothly, but, because I knew how she'd react to it, it was the hardest thing I've ever had to say to my sister. And those tears, those tears that I couldn't find the right words to stop. I never wanted to see those kinds of tears again. From any girl, Nell or otherwise. So, I promised myself that I'd do all I could to never see those tears again.' ' Then just walk away. Then you won't see them." " It's not that easy. I can't just look at a girl like Maria, see her cry and be in so much pain and then just walk away. Maybe you can't understand, because you don't have a little sister, but to me, walking from Maria, or any girl like her, would be like walking away from Nell." "You hearing this?" rex asked Roxy. " yes, and I'd like to tell you something, Rex." " What?" "I do believe I've found the man, not boy, but man I'm gonna marry one day." "Really? Well, least he can protect you. Yeah, you do that Rox." " Believe me, I will." " I can understand all that Tom, but.. Oh! What about your sword? You don't have it with you." Tom shook his head. " If only dad had trained you." " What?" "Tony, a sword is just a tool. It can't do anything without somebody picking it up. A sword's true power isn't in the blade, it's in here." tom said, laying his hand over his heart. "I still got that, so I got all the power I need. Dad taught me that, and Grandpa Agito taught him. Our swords are important, because our fathers made them and they tie us to them, but we don't exactly need them to fight. So, I'll say it again. With, or with out, you or the others, I'm doing this. What you do is up to you." " 'sigh' Fine, let's do this." " You sure?" " Eh, I can't let you do something stupid and crazy without me, now can I?"


	111. Chapter 111

New munks

Improvise

" Okay, so, what's the plan of attack here, Tom?" Rex asked. " While the guys, Andy and I stall the devils gang, you guys find and get Felipe and Maria's aunt and cousin out of there. Free any other hostages you find too." " Got it." " Tom?" "Yeah, Liz?" " You know I'm all for this, but, we got two problems." " and those are?" " One, how do we get in there?" ' Look over there. See that old ladder built into the side of the building?' " yeah." ' Well, follow it up towards the roof." Eliza scanned up and saw what Tom meant. " An open window." " Yeah, easily big enough for all of us to fit through if we go in two at a time." " Okay, well, that answers that. Okay, second problem." " What's that?" " What do we do about armaments? You know, weapons?" "We improvise." Tom said, digging around in some trash. He picked up an old mop handle. 'Bo staff." He said, handing it off to Tony. He found a piece of what he thought was an old cabinet. The bottom was broken in half already and kind of looked like " Tonfa." Olivia took the items from him. He searched a little more. He found an actual two ended tire iron, but it was rusted to the point that it had snapped in two. " Sai." He said. Eliza held the tire iron pieces by their fatter ends, using the rusted, jagged ends like the sharp points of the sai she'd normally use. Digging just a little more, Tom spotted something that honestly surprised him, which, considering his life style, was a little hard to do. He found a full, nine iron golf club laying around. "Don't know who throws a whole golf club away but, it works out for me. Alright then, we ready?" " Yeah." " Okay, somebody set up their phones to dial 911 or whatever it is down here the minute we get out." " I saw the number for the police when we took Felipe and Maria to he station, so I'll do it." Roxy said. " That' my girl." Roxy dialed the number into her phone and saved it to her number one speed dial slot. " Alright, let's get in and get out fast. Don't raise too much of stink in there either. We want to call as little attention to ourselves as we can." To, said, again sounding like his father. " In other words, do the exact opposite of what we normally do." Tony said. " Precisely. Andy, your gun loaded?" Andy pulled out the nemesis pistol and checked the clip. " Ready to roll." He responded. ' Good. Alright, let's get in there." The thirteen of them entered the building, leaving Cash outside, hidden in the shadows, to act as a look out. They happened to luck out, as the room they were looking for was right across the hall from the one with the open window. After a short fight, which ended in two twin fisted knock-outs, from the teams of Tom and Rex and Eliza and Roxy respectively, the two guards were out. " Okay, untie them.' Tom said. " Who are you?' The woman, that they figured had to be Maria and Felipe's Aunt Pilar, asked. "Are you aunt Pilar?" " yes, my name's Pilar." " Pilar, the well known baker in the inner city?" " Yes." " We're here to rescue you, on your niece and nephew's behalf." " Felipe and Maria?" " Yup." ' Are they alright?" ' Yeah, just worried sick about you two. Now, come on. If we don't get out of here soon.." "Right." The group, now consisting of fifteen members, got back out as easily as they got in. " Come on Cash!" "Right." The now sixteen strong group headed off to a safe distance, so as not to be spotted, and Roxy called the police. They informed where to find the Devils base and then headed back to the inner city mall, to meet up with Felipe and Maria. Once there, Felipe said " Aunt Pilar!" A teary family reunion, with lots of thanking God involved, soon followed.

New munks

Mistaken

" Thank you so much!" Estrella, Pilar's daughter, who the munks rescued with her mother, said. " Don't sweat it." Tom said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Come with us." Pilar told them. They followed the reunited family a few blocks away and found themselves at the family bakery. " Sit down anywhere." She told them. Moments later, Pilar and family brought out fresh bread with Peanut butter spread and every sort of doughnut and pastry the bakery made. " Whoa! Check out this spread!" Cash yelled. " I don't know what to try first." " I recommend the éclairs, they're aunt Pilar's specialty.' Felipe said. " Go ahead and dig in. We'll send you off with more when your done. It's the least we can do." Pilar said. " Thanks!" moments later, the phone rang. " Garcia Bakery." Estrella, in her very cute five year old voice, said. " Oh, okay. Here, Felipe, it's for you. It's the policia." " Hola." A few minutes later. " Yo entiendo. Si, Gracias." Felipe hung up the phone. " Hey guys?" " Yeah?" " That was the police. They lifted the prints of some big time members of the angels of the back pack. They said they're going down for sure and, when they do, the rest of the gang should fall like dominoes." " Well, that's good. We can only hope that some key members of the devils were at that base they were keeping Pilar and Estrella." " I remember seeing a few well known members there all the time." Pilar said. " Well, that's good. Hopefully they were there so the police could bust them." Olivia said. " Amen sister." Eliza said. " Do you guys realize what you've done?' Felipe asked. " Uh, helped you guys out?" Tom asked, his mouth full of chocolate doughnuts. " Besides that." " No, not really." " You jut single handedly took out the two biggest gangs in the city! You effectively saved dozens, if not hundreds of lives from being caught in the cross-fire of their war! Your heroes!" "Just another day in the life." Tom said. The Garcia's could only wonder what that meant. " He's so cool right now." Roxy thought. An hour later, and every one was thoroughly stuffed. " Dang, that was good, Ms. Garcia." Rex said. " Thank you." ' Yeah, best éclairs I've ever had.' Ben said. " What about mom's?" Olivia asked. " Besides hers" The group laughed. " It's really not fair to compare anyone's cooking or baking to Aunt Eleanor's, is it Ben?" Tony kidded. " Nope. Mom's the best there is, the best there was, and the best there ever will be." Ben's cousins laughed some more. " What? It's the truth." " Well, we'd better be going." Andy said. " You know how your moms and dads like to check in on you guys every couple of hours and they're about due to do that. We'd better head back to the mall's plaza so they an find us." " Um, Mr. McNab was it?" Aunt Pilar asked. " Yes, but, you can call me Andy.' " Okay. Well, Andy, if it wouldn't be too much trouble, could you take my kids with you. Maria and Estrella love the chipmunks and Felipe, though he won't admit it, wants to be exactly like that Alvin when he grows up. Ha-ha, it's so funny. He's got posters of him all over his room up stairs.' " Really? Felipe's got pictures of my dad all over his room? This I have to see. Excuse me." " Oh no you don't!" Olivia said. " It's not polite to barge into someone else's room." "Screw polite, I wanna see this!" " No!" " But Libby.." " But Libby nothing. I said no, and we should probably be going anyways." " Hmph, party pooper." " whatever." " Ha-ha. Oh sure, Ms. Garcia, it's no trouble." " Thank you. Well, I'm going to go lie down." Minutes Later." There you are! Hurry, get on stage!" " Wait! You got the wrong munks. We're their kids, not the actual.."

New munks

A world with out danger

Forced onto the stage and mistaken, somehow, for their parents, the kids thought it best to get Cash into his announcer's position and use Andy and the chip punks as their back up band. " Ladies and gentlemen, the chipmunks!" Cash yelled. " What do we play?" Olivia asked. " Somebody think of something!" Eliza said. " I got it." Tom said. "Just follow my lead." " uh, hey, how's it going folks?' He later asked on stage. There came a furious applause. " I'm afraid the guys running this got the wrong munks. We're the chipmunks kids, not the actual chipmunks." While there was some sounds of confusion, but a lot more people went 'aww', which caused the kids to roll their collective eyes. " But!' Tom cried to get the crowds attention back on him. " That doesn't mean we can't warm you guys up a little for when you get to hear our moms and dads later! So, with out further ado, here we go!" Tom began to strum his guitar. The rest noticed the tune. IT was the theme song of an old TV show they watched on DVD when they were younger. The show was called Code Lyoko and the song was called A world with out danger. When they caught on what it was, they began to pick up the bits that needed to be picked up. Of course the kids changed it up a bit. " There is a world that is darker and different, it can be so cold, makes us stand up for what's right. Our hope's sill alive, if we reset it to the start." Tom began. The Garcia's quickly realized that the song was directed towards the day they had had. " they're singing this for us." Maria said. " Cool!' Estrella yelled. They were so caught up in the song, they didn't realize that the actual chipmunks hand come up right behind them. " Think we should jump up on stage now?" Alvin asked. 'Nah. This is their show, let them have it. We'll get our turn later." Cash said, smiling proudly. "Yeah, your right. I mean, look how much fun they seem to be having." ' Seem nothing, dear. They are having fun." Brittany said. "Yeah." " Ha-ha! Look, look at Andy and Harry's kids!" Theodore laughed. " Wow. I've seen back up bands rock out before but, man. They're setting new standards." Katrina said. " I'll say." Simon agreed. Estrella, hearing voices that sounded similar to her new found friends, turned to see who was behind here. "Oh, hey. Sup kid?" Alvin asked. "your." 'I'm what?" Estrella reached up and tugged on Felipe's sleeve. " What Estrella? You better not have to go to the bathroom at a time like this." " Uh, Felipe, you might wanna turn around." " What?!"" How's it going Felipe?' " Alvin?!" " Shh, keep it down. I wanna hear my Lizzy. I'll sign autographs later." " Uh, okay." They turned back to the kids. " A world of evil." Eliza sang. " It can shadow human nature. And all that we need, is the way to find the answer." " And one thing is sure." Tony sang. " You can count on us for good." Olivia practically yelled. " Here we are, going far, to save all that we love. If we give all we got, t en we'll make it through. Here we are, like a star, shining bright on your world today, make evil go away." They all sang together. " The chipmunks, we'll withstand it all." Helen sang. ' The chipmunks, be there when you call.' Ben sang. " The chipmunks, we shall stand real tall." Tony sang. " The chipmunks, stronger after all." Olivia chimed in, making Eleanor extremely proud. The song died down a little as Tom and Eliza sang. " And we'll do our best, to never let you down. We're up to the test, to turn this world around." and they ended by repeating the chorus. They then noticed their parents and ran to them. " Oh man dad, your not gonna believe the day we've had." Tom said.


	112. Chapter 112

New munks

Accident

A few day after returning home, the munks found themselves across town. The day after tomorrow was Kathy's birthday and they were making reservations for her favorite restaurant. Vinny was busy making her cake, which was going to be a three layer chocolate on chocolate cake. " Oh darn it!" Vinny said, shaking her cake decorating bag. " What's wrong, Vin?" Xavier asked. " I ran out of chocolate icing, and I don't have the ingredients to make anymore.' " Well, let's go to the store." " Well, alright." 'Andy, Patty!" " What is it Xavier?" Patricia asked. " We're going to run to the store, you two want to come?' " Sure. I could use a few things." " And I have been craving some beef jerky. Never had it in London and now I'm addicted to it.' Andy said. " Well, it sounds like we'd better hurry." " Right, let's go." Patricia said. " Geneva, watch the house." " Yes, sir." The five loaded into the car and drove off. " hey, Vinny?" " Yes, Patty?" " Why are you making the cake now if Kathleen's birthday isn't until he day after tomorrow?" " Three reasons." " What are those?" " One, I know myself. If I didn't do it now, I know I'd forget to do it tomorrow. Secondly, I have a special container that I can keep it in that'll not only make it look pretty, it'll make it be as fresh as if I had just made it." " Ah, interesting. And the last thing?" " The last thing is... Holy!" " What?!" Crash! A large, Hummer-esque truck slammed into the side of their car, then backed up and drove off. " Uh.." Andy groaned. " Stupid, shite-eating.. Ugh.." " Ow, my head." Xavier complained. " Are you okay, Xavier?" Andy asked. " Yeah, I just wanged my head is all. Patty, are you still with us?" " Yes.. Ow, my leg." "You must have twisted it in the crash." " I guess so. James, your alright?' " Yes, ma'am. I hardly felt a thing. What about Miss Vinny?" " Oh yeah. Vinny, you okay?" Vinny didn't say anything. " Vinny?" Still no response. Andy examined Vinny. She had been sitting on the exact side that the car had been hit, and had been unfortunate enough to be sitting next to the exact door that was hit. Sensing that something was wrong, Andy reached across Vinny's chest to unhook her seat belt, so that he could turn her and examine her better. When his hand accidentally came in contact with her side, he felt something warm, and it wasn't her skin. He pulled his hand back. ' Blood! She's bleeding! Badly!" ' Quick, we need to stem the flow until we can get her to the hospital!" Xavier shouted. Andy grabbed the left shoulder of his jacket and ripped it off. He tied it like a large belt around Vinny and pulled it as tightly as he could. " Oh my god!" They heard a familiar voice say. IT was Raya Talbot. " My god, are you alright?" " We're fine, but we need to get Vinny to the hospital, now!" " Well, hop in!" Raya got them to the closest hospital. Once there, Raya left to find the guys while they waited for news on Vinny. Doctor Samson came out. " Well, Doctor?" Patricia asked. " She's lost a lot of blood. If we don't get her a transfusion of chipmunk blood, she's not going to make it. In fact, if they don't get here in ten minutes, it'll be too late." " But they're all the way across town. They'll never get here in time." James said." This isn't fair. They're going to lose her just like that." Patricia said. " No.' Andy said." Doctor, Vinny's blood type is O negative right?" " Yes." "Could human blood keep her going until they got here?" " If it was fresh, like, right from the vein, it could. For about an hour or so." " My blood's O negative, take it from me. Give them more time." Andy.." Patricia said. " I had to watch dad die while I sat powerless. I won't let the guys go through the same." " Then let's go."

New munks

The bond between mother and sons

Meanwhile, the munks, having received the news, were all driving like regular bats out of hell towards the hospital, with Cash in the lead. " Cash ,slow down or your going to kill someone!" Katrina yelled. They went flying off another speed bump. " Offf1 and that'll probably be us!" Helen yelled. Katrina stomped her foot onto the break and the car screamed to a stop. " What are you doing Katrina?!" " Calm down, honey. I know, I know, it's mom in trouble, but, driving so recklessly like this isn't going to help her. What do you think it would do to her for the last words she possibly hears to be that her boys, girls and all her grandchildren died in car wrecks, while rushing to her side?" " I.." " Drive fast, honey, but consider that the world around you is still there." Alvin rolled down the window on Brittany's side. ' Cash! Let's roll!" Cash looked to his brother and nodded. Not even bothering to ask the desk clerk where she was, the boys forced their way into the ER. " Please, where's Vinny Chipmunk?" Jeanette hurriedly asked the clerk, jumping slightly back and forth to pace herself and keep herself from shouting. " Are you her daughter?" " Daughter-in.. Oh forget it, yes, I am. What room is she in?" " Room two-o-three." " Thank you. Guys! " ' What?!" " Room 203! She's in 203!" No sooner had Jeanette said this, than there came the sound of thirteen different sets of footsteps running up the stairs to the second floor. " Wait for me!" Jeanette called. Not bothering to knock on the door, the gang darted inside. They saw Andy, hooked up to an IV, his blood being sucked into Vinny. " What's going on here?" Alvin asked. " Boys, good. Get over here. Andy, you can step down now." Doctor Samson said. Not asking anymore questions, figuring that they would get all their questions answered once Vinny was safe, stepped up. ' Now, the amount of blood she's lost is unsafe to take from just one of you, so we'll need a quarter of the amount from each of you." " Whatever your going to do, do it now!" Cash said. " Right. Now, this'll sting, like a small bite but.." " Get on with it Doc!" Theodore, to everyone's surprise, shouted. Doctor Samson nodded and stuck a state of the art, four way IV into each of the guys wrists and the blood started pumping. After about five minutes, he removed the IV's from them. ' Well, that replaces the blood and her wounds have been stitched up. Now, it's up to her." " Come on, Mom." Alvin said. " You can't leave us like this." Simon said. For the hour that it took for Vinny to wake up, it seemed like time stood still. Like nobody even needed to breathe. Nobody did anything but watched Vinny. For the family, it was the longest hour of their lives. Even the arrival of Dave and Ms. Miller didn't distract them from their vigil. The boys, though their eyes strained constantly, they never blinked for the whole hour. Finally. " ugh.." " Mom!" " Boys..." Her head dipped. " Mom!" " I'm alright..." " Jesus, mom, don't scare us like that." Simon said. " You scared the hell out of us, mom." Alvin said. " Royally." Theodore added. Cash nodded. " I'm... Sorry." ' Don't apologize. Just...rest." Simon said. "I could fell blood, or what I guess was blood, being pumped into me. Who was that? You?" " The second time, it was us. The first time was Andy." Theodore said. Vinny looked to Andy. " thank you Andy." " No problem, Vinny. Now, like Simon said, rest." " But, my cake.. Poor Kathy will be so disappointed." " I'll take care of it, Mom." Eleanor said. " And I'll help her." Katrina added. " Thank you. Boys.." " What? " Thank you too." " You don't need to thank us. You gave us life first. We're just returning the favor."


	113. Chapter 113

New munks

Official Roadie

" Happy birthday, Kathy!" Everyone shouted. Kathy was obviously impressed by the cake, but was also genuinely curious to know how Vinny was doing. "She's fine, Kath." Tom said. " She got to go home to rest yesterday. That's why Grandpa Xavier ain't here." " Oh, Okay." " You let her now we're praying for her to heal quickly." Juliet said. " Will do." Alvin said. " But hey, mom wouldn't want us fretting over her when we have a little birthday girl to take care of." Simon said. 'She's turning into a big birthday girl, though.' Katrina said. Kathy giggled in delight. Though she said she didn't like to be the center of attention, Kathy's attitude completely flipped come time for her birthday. But, then again, that was typical of most people. " Here you go Kathy." Alvin said, handing Kathy a large box with red and pink ribbons, signaling that it was from him and Brittany, on it. " What is it?" " Now, would it be right to tell you what's inside before you open the present?" ' Just open it, Kath." Eliza said, an air of excitement in her voice. Clearly, whatever this gift was, it was enough to get Eliza excited, and she wasn't even the one getting it. Kathy tore off the wrapping paper, which Katrina had had to help Brittany with, for she was notoriously bad at wrapping presents. Kathy then went to work trying to figure out how to open the box. "Jeez, Britt. Did you put enough tape on this thing?" Cash kidded his sister. " Oh shut up, Cash." Katrina noted her daughter's hand move ever so slightly. She also saw that Helen was squinting somewhat and her tongue was pushed out just a little bit. She obviously concentrating on something. Katrina then saw a piece of tape near the top of the box move. Not a lot, but enough to give Kathy something to grab onto. " Hey, Kathy, I see a small piece of loose tape near the top." She then told the slightly younger girl. " Oh, thanks, Nelly." " Good work, Nell." Katrina whispered to her daughter. " I try." Helen whispered back. " Oh my God!" Kathy yelled. It was a miniature sun burst les Paul guitar in Kathy's favorite color, purple. "Your dad said you really like music." "But a guitar?!...And we got Liz something so little for her birthday." Juliet said. " Trust me, I get a lot of use out of that antique Hannah Montana reading lamp." Liz reassured her. " Does it mean I'm getting old because I can say that I can remember when that particular lamp was brand new?" Cash asked. " Yes, Cash, that's exactly what it means." Brittany joked, getting her shot back at him for the joke he made earlier. " It's times like these that I'm glad he's the oldest." Alvin joined in. " Hey!" Cash called. The Seville family all laughed. " Anyways.." Cash dragged out. " Here you go Kathy." Cash said, handing Kathy a large box, this one with white and black ribbons on it. "How'd you get black ribbons?" Simon asked Cash. " Yeah, what did you do? Rob a funeral?" Alvin asked. " No, I took some extra white ones and spray painted them. Now watch." Kathy opened the box to find a pile of clothes inside it. " Ah good, she needed new clothes." Jesse said. " These aren't just any clothes." Cash said. " What do you mean?" "Kate would you like to say this part?" "Sure. This is the new, official, girls uniform for the 'chipmunk roadies'." " Official uniform?" Kathy asked. " Yup. You wear that, and any guard will have to let you into the concert to see us." " It's like a V.I.P. pass that you wear." Cash said. " But, if that wasn't enough, check out the bottom." Kathy pulled out a purple jacket. " This looks like the ones I've seen you guys wear." Kathy said. " It is. It's an official, members only jacket for our band. Only members of the band or crew get one of these." " COOL!"

New munks

An usual condition

" Kathy!" A small girl called from the distance. This girl, though it was warm out today, was wearing a large hat, big sunglasses, a log sleeved shirt, gloves, full length pants and long socks under her shoes. In short, for one reason or another, no part of this girl was ever going to be exposed to the sun. Not in that get-up. " Oh, hey Rosie. I'm glad you could come." Kathy said, hugging the girl, who was obviously her friend. " Sorry I can't stay long though. I just came to give you your present." She said, handing Kathy a small, jewelry box. Kathy opened it to reveal small earrings, with purple stones set in them. " These are so pretty. Thank you, Rosie." "your welcome. Okay, I better go back in and get in the car." Rosie left, leaving her mom standing there. " Hey, you wanna take some cake and what not with you?" Eleanor asked Rosie's mother. "Yes, I would. Thank you." " uh, hey, can ask you a question?" Alvin asked the mother. " Is it about Rosie's clothes?" " Well, yeah. I mean, it's gotta be 75, maybe closer to 80 outside. Why's she wearing all that?" " Because, the sun is toxic to her." " What?" " I'm sorry, I have to go. Jesse and Juliet can tell you. Thanks for the cake. Bye." As soon as she was gone, the munks turned to Jesse. " Well?" Brittany pressed. " Rosie, she has a condition you see. I don't know the full name, but the short version is called X.P.( This does actually exist). X.P. is a medical condition that makes those affected by it's skin sensitive to U.V. Light." " I.E., sunlight." Simon said. " Exactly. But you see, X.P. is far worse than it's sister condition, who's name completely escapes me. With that condition, sufferers can take indirect sunlight, such as through a screen or something. But with X.P., you can't have any sunlight or U.V. Light period. The resulting reaction burns the skin almost instantly and who knows what the damage could do from there. X.P. basically makes you a living vampire. You don't need to suck blood, but sunlight is still deadly." " So when her mom said the sun was toxic, she meant it." " Yeah. And that's why she has to keep all that clothing on. She has to keep her skin covered, or she'll burn alive." " That's why I was kind of shocked to see Rosie. She never takes chances like this. They're our neighbors, but we never see Rosie outside of her house. She put all of that on just for Kathy. We should do something nice for her." Juliet said. " I agree. I mean, she risked being exposed to the sun just for Kathy. And like I said, exposing her to the sun would be like sticking her in an oven." Jesse said. "So she can't run around and play outside ever?" Jeanette asked. " Well, she can come out and do all that at night." " But what good is that?' Brittany asked. " All of her friends would be asleep." " Not to mention that this city gets dangerous at night, as we all well know." Eleanor added. " So she's trapped in that house all day and night. That's just not right." Katrina said. "Hmm." Cash let out. " Cash said hmm." Simon noted. " He's thinking of something." Theodore said. "Oh wise elder brother, what are you thinking?" Alvin asked. " I think, we just found a good use for the chipmunks' charity organization." " What do you mean?" " Well, there's gotta be others like Rosie, right?' " Yeah, probably." " And they don't get to enjoy the things that go on during the day." " Right." " Well, what if we make it possible for them to enjoy those things at night?" "But where do we start?" Simon asked. "Now that should be obvious. Where do all the kids in the united states like to go?" "Disneyland!" Everyone shouted. " Right. So, we're going to pull off opening Disneyland at night for these kids. And that's just the beginning."


	114. Chapter 114

New munks

just in the surrounding area

"'whistle'" Was all Alvin could muster. He was standing in the airport, a mere three days after they had made this plan, and he was looking at a literal sea of kids. All of whom had the X.P. Condition. " Man, there's kids as far as the eye can see." " uh-huh." Brittany agreed. " There's gotta be, what? 600 kids here?" She asked. " Easy." Alvin replied. " But, it's kinda under whelming at the same time." " Why's that dear?" ' I thought we'd get more kids." "Hmm, yeah. Only six hundred cases in the whole U.S.?" " Pffftt." Cash let out. " What?" "Only Six-hundred cases in the U.S.? You wish. This is just in the greater metropolitan area." ' You mean all these kids are all just from Hollywood and L.A.?" Alvin asked. ' Yup. Mostly L.A., but yeah." " Wow. How many do you think there'd be if we had them all here?" " More than we could shuttle to Disneyland, that's all I can say." ' 'sniff, sniff'." Kathy came walking up to them. " What's wrong, Kath?" Brittany asked. Kathy looked up. Her eyes were red and her little six year old face was tear-stained. " I can't find Rosie. I thought she'd come for sure. I told her that I wanted her to. And she's not going to show up! 'sob'." " Hey, hey, none of that. She'll be here, you've just got to give her time. I've seen how close you two are. She wouldn't miss this for the world." Brittany reassured the girl, whipping tears out of her eyes. Clearly, her motherly instincts were on overdrive, as she was treating Kathy exactly the same way she would Eliza. "Are you sure, Mrs. Seville?" "Cross my heart and hope to die, and you can call me Brittany. We've told you about that." " Right, sorry. But, are you really sure?" " Yes, Kathleen, I'm sure. She'll be here, even if I have to drive over to her house and drag her over here myself." Brittany said, giving Kathy a wink. " Okay. I guess I just have to be patient." " That's right. Trust me, Rosie won't miss a chance to hang out with you. Not in a situation like this." Kathy nodded. Within five minutes, true to Brittany's word, Rosie showed up. " Kathy!" " Rosie!" Kathy ran and grabbed the girl, hugging her for alls he was worth. " Kathy, why do you look like you've been crying?" "Because she was." Cash said. " Cash!" Kathy yelled. " What? It's true. She thought that you weren't coming Rosie." " Oh, yeah, I guess I am kinda late but, you should that I wouldn't miss something like this Kathy." "I told you." Brittany said. Kathy quickly wiped her face, the get rid of the tear stains. While Kathy and Rosie sat and talked while preparations were being made, Alvin was looking around at all the kids. Some had obviously had unfortunate run ins with the sun, as made evident by the damage done to their sun. Some looked like they had experienced third degree burns. The more he saw, the more he thought that this was a good idea. But, something was bothering. Everywhere he looked, he saw the parents, one per kid, waving strange devices around. He turned to the nearest knowledgeable chipmunk, who happened to be Simon." Hey Sy?" ' What Alvin?"" What are those things the moms have? They look like stun guns." " Well, I can guarantee you that they aren't." " Well, what are they then?" " U.V. Radiation detectors." " Come again?" ' Those things are U.V. Radiation detectors. I asked earlier. They let the moms know what indoor areas are safe by telling them the level of U.V. Radiation in that location." " you mean they made a machine to let them know where the kid is safe INSIDE?!" " Well, there are U.V lights inside, and they have to be careful around all things U.V." " Not even safe inside. Oh, now we have to do this." " Speaking of that..."

New munks

Party at midnight

" Attention everyone!" Simon yelled. "I've just gotten word that we're ready to go, so if you'll head for the terminal, we can get this show underway. By the way, I hear the first ones through get to ride in the chipmunks private jet, with us of course." That was all the chipmunk fans in the crowd needed to hear and they all made a mad dash for the terminal. To ride in the jet alone seemed enough of a 'something special' for them. The fact that they would be riding with the band they loved so much didn't hurt either. Once in the air, the person in charge of each plane, which numbered up to four, large, filled to the brim planes, made an announcement. Katrina happened to be the one chosen for the chipmunks own plane. Kathy quieted Rosie down for a moment so that she could hear what Kathy had been dying to tell her. " Alright everybody, I suppose that your all wondering where we're going, right?" " Yeah!' The kids shouted. " Well, we know that, thanks to your condition, you can't enjoy many of the great things in life, because they're closed at night. But, no more. We, the chipmunks, in association with Franklin industries, have pulled some strings and made a few phone calls for you guys. First and foremost, Franklin industries has put it's best scientists and researchers to work on finding a cure." There came a loud applause. ' But, unfortunately, as with all cures, it'll take some time. But, there is a bright side. Until they manage to find the cure, we pulled some strings so that, at least twice a year, all of you get to ride with us to Florida, for a three day, and four night stay, at a certain resort that I'm sure your all familiar with and you have the exclusive privilege of having a certain park open to you and you alone come night time. Now, anybody care to guess where we're going?" There was some murmuring, but no one said anything. " No? Alright, I'll tell you. This plane, that we're on right now, is taking you guys, TO DISNEYLAND!" The combined roar of excitement that came from all four planes was so loud that it probably could be heard down on the ground. Rosie was screaming herself horse and Kathy deaf but, to Kathy, the ringing in her ears was worth it. If only to see Rosie light up in this way, a way Kathy had never seen before. When they arrived, the kids were told that, if they needed anything, or just simply wanted one of them to ride some rides with them, where each munk would be posted. That is, if they weren't on a ride or something themselves at the time. The girls loved taking pictures with Mickey and the gang, and the boys loved the little pecks to the cheek they were getting from the Disney princesses. And then, they were told that, come midnight, they were to all gather by the palace for a special surprise. The new munks tried go off with their significant others and have a little fun, but they kept getting followed. Tom even had a girl force a kiss on him, right in front of Roxy. " Thank you. You have no idea how much that meant to me." The girl said, then walked off to ride some rides. Tom stood dumbfounded. " Ahem!" Roxy said. " Huh? Oh, Roxy. Uh, I didn't enjoy that." " Then why are you stammering so much?" " Well, if somebody did that to you, wouldn't you be surprised?" " I guess so. And, it did mean a lot to her, so I'll let it slide. But, if you ever.." "I wouldn't dream of it. In fact, I'd rather die than ever do that to you." Roxy smiled and gave Tom and forgiving kiss. Kathy and Rosie were enjoying themselves greatly. Dave and Debbie were supposed to be keeping an eye on them, they had managed to sneak off and ride some of the bigger rides. Finally, it came time to gather up at the palace.

New munks

One step at a time

As it turned out, the special surprise was a new music video. They kids and parents here would be the first in the world to see it. It started simply enough. The six kids walk into a recording studio, talking amongst themselves about how cool it was to be called in to do their very first recording. But, the girls in the group were kept out. " Sorry girls, but we only need the guys. You understand." The man said, and then closed the door. A moment later, the boys could be heard singing the witch doctor. " Man, what a jip!" Eliza complained as they came walking out of the building. " Yeah." Olivia agreed. " Man, why do the guys always get the best of everything?" " I don't know." Olivia replied. "I don't either." Helen said. " Ugh, what do they have that we don't?" Eliza said. " Besides a y chromosome?" Helen asked. " Yeah." " Nothing." " So, they picked them just because they're boys? They picked them over us because we have two X's instead of an x and a y?" ' It seems that way." Olivia said. " That's sexist!" ' But what can we do?" " It's just not fair." " Hey girls." Brittany said, the mother munks coming into the picture. " Why the long faces, girls?" Katrina asked. " We went in for the recording.." Helen began. ' And?" ' They took the guys and left us out." " Well, why?" " We don't know. Man, this always happens. The guys get everything and we get jiped." Eliza complained. " Nothing ever works out for us." Olivia said. One thing lead to another, and the mother munks began to sing 'one step at a time' to make the girls feel better. It ended with the mothers and their girls singing the ending of the song together on stage, which them a lot of applause. " Thank you, thank you.' Eliza said, bowing. " That was beautiful, Liz." Rex said. " Thank you honey." " Yeah, that was great and all.." They heard Tom's voice on the microphone. " But we all know why those guys picked me and the guys over the girls." Tom was trying to get the girls back on stage, for they had it planned for them to sing 'the girls and boys of rock and roll'. In order for that to seem real, Eliza and Tom had to act a certain way, but that's all it was. An act. " What are you trying to say exactly, cousin dear?" Eliza asked. " I'm just saying that those guys on the video picked us because we're better performers. Specifically, I'm better than you.' " Oh you think so huh? Well, Mr. Performer, how much you wanna bet that me and the girls can out rock and roll you and the guys?" " Oh it's on now." One of the kids in the audience said. Tom and Eliza whipped around, grabbed their halves of the group. The groups ended up at opposite ends of the stage and it began. The other girls played the instruments, while Eliza and the other new munks girls sang. The same went for the boys side. " Sun goes down, I'm just getting up, I'm headed for the city lights. Radio blastin' on the way to the club, gonna rock this town tonight. Your living in a man's world, they tell us, but we ain't gonna buy it, the things they're trying to tell us now. Cause we're the girls of rock and roll ( woohoo) Cause we're the girls of rock and roll." " Oh Yeah! Curtain's up, my guitar is in my hand. There's nothing more that I'd rather do, than play in a rock and roll band. What we have is what we will be giving, headed for the top, don't you know, we'll never stop believing now! Cause we're the boys of rock and roll ( Woohoo) Cause we're the boys of rock and roll. Rock and Roll." When this was done, the first night was over. ' And to think, we've only got three more nights of this." Simon joked.


	115. Chapter 115

New munks

The franklins

While the munks were enjoying themselves in Florida, the group leaders were making an announcement. " Who are they?" Claudia asked. " This is Sean and Naomi Franklin." The female lead said. " And?" Ian asked. " Well, we'll be taking a few weeks off, for a little R & D, you understand." The male lead said." Your taking a vacation?" Claus asked. " No you idiot!" Claudia said. "He said R & D, not and R & R. R & D, as in research and development." " Oh, I see. Um, what are you developing?" " It's a surprise." The female lead said. " But, for the time that we'll be gone, they'll be in charge. Treat them with the same respect you would us." Claudia sized up Naomi. " Hmph, I'm a better choice for leader. What does she have that I don't?" Naomi's hand shot out and lifted Claudia up into the air by her throat. " Speed and strength. That's what I have. Think you can match me now?" " I'll just keep quiet." " Good." ' Well, you crazy kids be good and we'll see you in three weeks." The male lead joked. "Ciao." The female lead joked as well. " Well, now what?" Ian asked. " I'm going to go work on my latest experiment." Dr. Frankenstein said. " There is a man in the other, his name is Clyde Crashcup. He's a bumbling fool, but he's also a genius." " How's that possible?" Ian asked. 'Well, let me ask you this. Who do you think made that electric cannon that Claudia over there used?" ' How'd you know about that?" " we've been brought up to speed. Clyde can make pretty much anything." "I see. I'll make good use of him." Dr. Frankenstein said, leaving. " Hey, Sean was it?" Claus asked. " Yes." " Are you as strong as you sister?" " I'm stronger." " How?" " Well.." Sean and Naomi told there tale. " So, your siblings are a part of you now? That's kinda sick." Ian said. "Perhaps, but it gives us the strength to pull off the one thing we want more than anything else in the world." " And that is?" " The utter destruction of the chipmunks!" " Ah, now your speaking our language." Ian said. " Yes, they are. Your the leaders now, so lead on.' Claudia said. " So we have your loyalty? Good." " I hear the munks are in Florida right now, doing some charity work.' Ian said. " I see. Good, that gives us time to prepare." " Sean, do you think that we should use them?" ' Them?" Ian asked. " Two mercenaries hired by those other two. And to answer your question, Naomi, yes, I think we should." " But how?" " I think we should stick L and Grant together for a little ' trial run' sort of mission. Something simple, just to get them used to working together." "Um, question." Ian said. ' yes, Ian?" Naomi asked. ' Who's Grant and L?" " They are the mercenaries. All you need to know is that they are very good at what they do. On top of that, L admitted that he enjoyed his duel with the munks, even though he had to retreat due to his injuries. And, Grant, in a slightly sadistic moment, admitted he liked throwing them around too. I doubt they'll have any objections to a rematch.' Sean said. ' But how do we get them used to working with each other?" Naomi asked. " Any ideas anybody?" " Not a one. I'm a doer, not a thinker.' Ian said, flipping open this morning's paper. " hmm, let me see that" Sean said. " Here you go." Ian said. " Ah, yes, perfect." " What?" " I believe I've found a nice, simple mission for them. Something so simple that it insults their skills, but it'll serve the purpose." " What do you have in mind?" " Well, according to this paper, the zoo just got a new Lion exhibit." " oh I get it, get them to kidnap the kids and throw them to the lions?" " It's like you read my mind, Naomi. Yes, if the munks fail, those kids will become a six course rodent dinner."

New munks

Getting lucky

" Wow, sure is beautiful, huh?" Roxy asked. She and Tom were on the balcony of Cash and Katrina's room in the resort. " yeah. Too bad tonight's our last night here." ' yeah. But, at least those poor kids enjoyed themselves. Matter of fact, the last I saw of Kathy and Rosie, Rosie had a smile a mile wide.' " She deserved it." " They all did." " Yup." Roxy laid her head on Tom's shoulder. " Hey Tom?" " hmm?" " Your named after your grandpa, right?" " My dad's dad, yeah. Grandpa Tom." " What was he like?" " I don't know." " Huh?" " He died a week before my dad and my uncles were born. So, even they don't know. All we have to go on is what Grandma Vinny's told us." " Well, what does she say about him?" " That he was 'a very kind soul' and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it more than him. He was always helping others, putting them before himself." " Sounds like somebody else I know and love." Tom smiled at this comment. " She also said that he was very smart. That he could out wit just about anybody." ' Sounds like Tony and your uncle Simon.' 'Yup. And, wrapping it up, she said that he was a 'prankster'. That he loved a good practical joke." "Just like your uncle Alvin." " and Liz. She's pulled some good ones.' ' Sounds like your grandpa was your dad and your uncles all wrapped up in one package." " I guess so." " Hey Tom?" " Yeah?" " If I said that I'd like to marry you one day, what would you say?" " I'd say that I'd be honored." ' Well, be honored, because I do." " That's great." " You don't sound to enthused, honey.' " Oh, I'm happy. I'm just really tired." 'Yeah, those kids ran you ragged. I think that at one point they literally had a tug of war over you, pulling you in opposite directions, didn't they?" ' Yeah." " yeah, I guess that's why you don't seem enthused." " I'm sorry." " It's alright, dear." Roxy said, trying to sound like Tom's future wife. She gently kissed him and said good night. And so ended the last night of the trip. A few days after returning home, the chipmunk girls were visiting Rosie. Eliza and her cousins went to the store to get something for her, while Roxy and her sisters stayed and kept her company. But, the girls didn't return. So, Roxy and her sisters went out looking for them. They saw them being dragged into a van. " Hey!" Roxy yelled. " Let them go!" L quickly whipped out a tranq pistol and shot all three, to keep them quiet. " Now what?" Grant asked. "I doubt that our employers will object to those lions getting a six course, female chipmunk starter." " Your right. But, how do we get the boys?" " Let the girls draw them in." " So, leave their phones on them?" " Yes. Let them be able to call them.' Within a few hours, the girls awoke to the feeling of being licked. " Wahhhh!" They all yelled. " How'd we get here?!" Nikki yelled. " Who cares about that, how do we get out of here?!" Roxy yelled. " I have an idea." Helen said. " Ah man, Helen, I'd say I love ya if we weren't in mortal danger." Roxy said. " yeah, okay. Anyways, here's what we do. You three look for a way out, and we'll distract the Lions." " How?' Eliza asked. " well, they say that music soothes the savage beast, so let's sooth them." So, the three began to sing 'getting lucky' to sooth the lions into sleep, much like how they're mothers had used the song to charm a room full of cobras so many years ago. Once the lions were asleep, the girls managed to escape. " Okay, all those in favor of going home?" Eliza asked. Everyone shot their hands up. Eliza pulled out her phone. " Uh, hey daddy. Um, you'll never guess where we are." " Where's that Lizzy?" "The zoo." " What?!" "Could you please pick us up?' ' yeah, okay."

New munks

Knowing more now

" So, how'd it all go?" Sean asked when the two mercenaries returned. " Not well. The girls managed to escape in a matter of minutes, after waking up of course. The small one, Helen is her name I believe, came up with a plan almost immediately. While she and her cousins sang the lions to sleep, the other three chipmunk girls that we had to throw in with them because they came looking for them, found an exit. They never even bothered to call the boys, let alone their parents. The mission was a failure." Mr. L Said. "Oh, well, no harm done." " Say what? I failed you, again." " Not necessarily." " Explain." " The purpose of this mission was mostly to get you two used to working together. What did you think of working together." " We both believe that we can work well together." " Well then, mission accomplished. Now, go on. Go get tanked or something. Get to know each other, because you'll be working together a lot very soon. Better learn how the other ticks, so you can compensate for any weaknesses." " Yes sir. Come along Grant, the first round's on me." "You've got no argument from me." " Sean, I know we're being tentative right now but, we really should kick it up a notch or two soon." " Why Naomi?' ' I just woke up from a nap. Every time I go to sleep, I have the same dream. It's always the same nightmare. All I can hear is Leon yelling at me, and all I can see is fond of memories of him from our childhood, being played back in excruciating detail. I don't know how much longer I can take those dreams. Please promise me that we'll be taking out the chipmunks soon." " I promise, Naomi. To tell the truth, I've had dreams of Brent trying to get out, ripping me apart from the inside out in the process. Reminded me of those Elm Street movies actually. I don't think I can take that much longer either. So, I swear, we'll slay those rodents soon enough. I'm sure that, once they're dead, Brent and Leon will be quiet. Hopefully then, we can live a, somewhat, normal life." " Amen brother." Meanwhile, the munks, and friends, were all gathered at Alvin's, interrogating the girls. " I'm sorry, everyone, but we don't remember anything." Olivia said. " Well, what about you girls?" Simon asked Roxy and her sisters. " I remember going to go look for the girls after they didn't come back from the store, like they told you they did. When we found them, we saw those two guys who kidnapped them, stuffing them in the back of a van. When one saw us, he shot us with some gun. The next thing we know, we're in the lion's den." Roxy said. " Do you remember what they looked like?" Cash asked. " Um, one was a really big guy. And, I think he was Italian, because I remember hearing them talk a little before I passed out and he had a thick Italian accent. He also had black hair." " I see, and the other guy?" " He was shorter, and he reminded me of Andy." " How?" Andy asked. " He sounded like you." " He sounded British?" "yeah." 'Wait, did he have light brown hair, and was about a foot taller than me?" 'uh, yeah, I think so." "British, light brown hair and a little taller than Andy?" Alvin asked. " Kinda sounds like Mr. , huh?" "Yeah, I think it might be." "It sounds like Mike Libby to me." Andy said. "Is it possible that it's the same guy?" " Most likely." Cash said. 'And that other guy sounds like Grant Morella." "The group's got both of them? That's just great." Alvin said. " Hmm, you think maybe L was the sniper who shot Patty?" Theodore said. ' If that's true, then that means that I have to beat the stuffing out of Mike when I find him." Andy said.


	116. Chapter 116

New munks

The trouble quadruplets

The next day after the girl's kidnapping, Cash was mulling over everything that had happened to them lately. L and Grant working for the group made perfect sense. Katrina saw the look in his eye. He was becoming obsessed again, just like he did back when Frankenstein came into the picture. Worried for her husband's sanity, and her own ability to get a good night's sleep, Katrina decided that she had to get Cash's mind off this, as soon as possible. " Uh, hey Cash?" " Yes dear?" " um, when's the last time you went to visit Jerry? You know it does him good to have his old buddy Cash come visit. I think it speeds his recovery to know how much we all support him, especially you. You've said that you two practically brothers back in the day." " Yeah, I know, but we've got more pressing concerns right now Kate." " More important than friends?" " Jerry will understand. I need to check the journal I've been keeping. Now that we know that Grant and L are in the mix, I think some of those things I've written in here, that didn't make sense, will now." Katrina yanked the notebook out of Cash's hands. " Kate, what are you doing?" ' Keeping you from going crazy. Honey, your getting to be the exact same way you were when Frankenstein came into the picture, and we all remember how that went. Please, take a break, go hang out Jerry, go hang out with your brothers, go do something. Just get you mind off this stuff, even if it's just for a few hours." "But who'll take of this while I'm gone?" " You let me worry about that. I may not have the tactical brain that you do, but I'm not stupid." 'I never said you were honey. It's just that.." Katrina shook her head. " Cash, you keep forgetting, we're lucky enough to have a very big family. I mean, we have a huge number of people that we're fortunate enough to call our kin, and a lot more who aren't our flesh and blood, but are still family. But they're all more than willing to help you through this. You've got me, and the kids, and all the others and we're waiting to help you. Your forgetting that you don't have to bear the weight of the world on your shoulders. And, even when it seems that you do, you also forget that you don't have to do it alone. So please, go take a break. This'll still be here, I promise. Maybe I can find something you missed. But I'm begging you, take a rest. If you keep this up, you'll just have another one of those nightmares. Please, don't make me get down on my knees. I'll do it, you know I will." Cash smiled. " Okay, honey, I'll go see Jerry." "Thank you honey." Cash grabbed his jacket and the keys to his car. Then he stopped. " What now?" Katrina asked. " I just realized how long it's been since I last talked to Jerry. He told me last time that those girls we hung out with when we were kids were moving into town." " Well there you go. I'm sure you'll wanna know if they're back right?" " yeah, I sure do. I've missed those two." " well, go find out." " Right. And thanks for being worried about me honey." Cash said, kissing Katrina's cheek. " I'm your wife Cash. It's my job. Somebody's gotta keep an eye on you, if your not going to. Might as well be me." "Ha-ha, yeah, alright. I'll be back in a bit." Later. " Hey, Jerry!" "Cash! Man, where the hell have you been?!" " Oh you know, around." " Jesus! The girls got in last week, and that's the best line you can give me?!" " What? The girls are in?" " Yes! They've been asking when we get together. But every time I've tried to call you, you've be gone. I told them that I knew you were in now, so I told them to meet us at the cafe down the street. They just called and said they're waiting for us!" " Then let's go!"

New munks

Go get'er Jerry

" There he is. The elusive rock star." Kelly said when they arrived. " Kelly! Christine!" Cash yelled. The girls both hugged their old friend. " Man, I've missed you girls." " We've missed you too Cash. Well, come on, we should have coffee and catch up." " Oh, right. And the drinks are on me. I am the big rock star after all." Cash joked. After chatting for an hour, Jerry said ' ah, this is great. The trouble quads, together again." " Yeah, this is really nice. Oh, can somebody pass the salt?" Christine asked. ' I'll get it." Kelly and Jerry said at the same time. Their hands accidentally touched and then recoiled. Jerry had forgotten what the touch of a woman felt like. It had been so long since his wife died that he'd forgotten about that feeling. And Kelly's skin, at least that on her hand, was very soft. ' Oh, sorry." He said. He then noted her eyes. She had nearly lost them to cancer so many years ago, but now he was glad she didn't. The only thing he could compare her soft green eyes to were emeralds. " Why am I thinking like this? I'm a widower and these kinds of thoughts are..." " No, I'm sorry. I was in your way." Kelly said, snapping Jerry back into reality. Cash noted that the two didn't seem to be doing what Christine wanted, so he reached for the salt. ' Here you go, Christine." " thank you Cash. Least somebody at this table can keep their eyes forward." 'Uh, what are you talking about, Chrissie?" Kelly asked, her head snapping away from Jerry. " you know." " I have no clue what your talking about." " Mm-hmm, a likely story. Cash, you buying this?' " Not for a second." " Um, well, I gotta go to the bath room." "Yeah, I should probably split too. I told Katrina I'd be back soon, and that was an hour ago." "When do we get to meet your wife?" Christine asked. " um, well, I'd bring her over to meet you girls tomorrow. Here, at the same time tomorrow. Is that good for you girls?' 'It sounds great." " Alright. Hey, Jerry?" " Yeah?' " You doing anything for dinner?" " No." Then you can have dinner at my place. We'll invite Dave and Debbie over too.' " Oh, okay." " I can't wait to meet you daughter Jerry." Kelly said. " I'll bet she's cute." ' yeah, she reminds me of her mother in so many ways. God I miss Sarah." " Jerry.." " Oh well, no use crying over the past. Sarah would want me to keep on keeping on. So, all I can do now is do the best I can to get better as fast as I can. For Debbie's sake." " And your doing just that, bud." Cash said. 'Charlene says your almost ready, and that she's got one last test in mind before she clears you.' " Then I'll ace it. I have to. I owe it to Debbie.' ' Jerry's grown up a lot." Kelly thought. " It's not like when we were kids. He was always in the supporting role. Perfectly comfortable playing second banana to Cash. But, now, he's taking charge. And I.. I wanna help him. I wanna help Debbie. I wanna try to fix the damage that life's done to them... Wait, why am I thinking like this? Is it, is it possible that, after all these years, I still have feelings for Jerry?" " Well come on Bud, dinner'll get cold on us." " Right." " Jerry." " Yeah, Kelly?" " Um, if, if you ever wanna talk, you know, get something off your chest, or you just wanna hang out, um, don't, don't think twice about calling me, okay?" " Will do. Alright, let's go Cash." " Right." On the ride over. " Hey, Cash?' ' Hmm?" " What did you think of Kelly today?" " She's grown up well, and her eyes seem to be working just fine." " Yeah, but, I talking about her looks. You think she's cute right?" "Jerry, I stopped paying attention to what other girls look like after I married Kate. But, if that's your speed, then I say go for it." " I think I will."

New munks

A mom for Debbie

One week later, Jerry had passed Charlene's test. She had placed a full bottle of liquor right in front of him and asked did he want any. He had said yes, he would have failed. But, what he said was 'Get that mess away from me. I'll take coffee instead." with that, Charlene pronounced him cured and Debbie could finally live with him again. But, he needed a job. Luckily for him, he happened to have the right friends. With Cash vouching for his ability, the label hired Jerry to be the new lead accountant, replacing the old retiring one. He would also be the treasurer for the chipmunks charity organization. All of this suited him just fine, and Debbie was overjoyed. She promised to visit Dave as often as possible, but had no desire to stay there for a long time again. As celebration, Jerry gathered his courage and asked Kelly out for their fourth date since they had reconnected. Now, with Jerry out on the date, the munks were sitting around at Dave's, with Debbie, wondering how it was going. Cash knew something the others didn't. Jerry was planning to use Kelly as a mother figure for Debbie, assuming all went well. In other words, if he could get a steady thing going with Kelly, though they had been on only a few dates, he would ask her to marry him. " So, Cash, did you give Jerry any advice?" Alvin asked. ' Yeah." " What did you tell him?" " Well, he told that he'd forgotten how to handle dates, so I told him what I knew. I told him, first and foremost, make sure to tell the girl that she looks nice." " Right, compliments will get you everywhere." Brittany said. " Next, if you can, pay for the bill at dinner. Lastly, make sure to walk her to the door, and only come in if invited." "Basic, but effective advice." Simon said. Ding-dong. ' That would be Jerry now." Cash said and answered the door. Cash came back with both Jerry and Kelly. " So, I take it that it went well?" Eleanor asked, noting the firm grip Kelly had on Jerry's hand. " Better than expected.' " What do you mean?" ' I, I asked Kelly, to marry me." " What?!" " But, you guys just started dating." Simon said. "Yes but, you see, I believe that, if the love is strong enough, it more than makes up for a short dating time. I'll admit, I had a crush on Jerry when we were kids, and seeing him at the cafe last week brought those feelings back. Besides that, Debbie needs a mom, and I have no kids of my own." " you wanna marry my dad, because of me?" " Well, kinda. Debbie, I loved your dad a long time ago, and it nearly killed me to have to leave him back then. I didn't want to, but, if I didn't, I would have lost my sight. In all honesty, I wish that I had just let myself go blind, so I could have stayed with him. He needed friends around when his dad died, and all that was left was Cash. And you, you've lived your whole life so far with out your mom. See, I wanna make the unfair deal that life's given you two fair, and marrying your dad is step one. Step two, is for me to try to be the best mom and wife I can. In other words, step two is for me to try to make us a family. So, what do you say? I willing to work at this, if you are. I know we're rushing into it, but that's just the way I like to do things. Don't get me wrong, I'm not doing this out of pity. I do love your dad, I always have. And I know, I'm not going to ever be a replacement for your real mom, but I'm willing to raise you as my daughter, if your willing to teach how to be your mother." Debbie walked over and hugged Kelly. ' Debbie.." Debbie looked up. " yeah, I'm willing. And, I know this'll sound more believable as time goes on, but I want you to hear it now. And I mean what I'm gonna say. I, I love you, mom." "'sniff' I love you too, Debbie."


	117. Chapter 117

New munks

The way of the Ortiz

" I can't believe their engaged already." The munks were at Xavier's conversing, after their weekly dinner there, about the sudden announcement that Jerry and Kelly had laid on them just yesterday. Debbie's little stunt, while moving, didn't help things either. While Vinny and Xavier watched the kids play around with Andy and Patty in the backyard, seven of the eight parents were in the den, absorbed in this conversation. The odd man out was Cash. He was in the room, but wasn't part of the conversation. He was being silent, and was just simply reading the newspaper and drinking some coffee. His mind was focused on other things. Like, finding anything odd in the paper that could possibly be the work of the group, or anything nice he could do for Rosie, as he knew that she was the only kid that munks new or had the pleasure of calling their own, who couldn't meet up at Xavier's. Whether their last name was Seville, Talbot, Diggs, Ortiz or Frankenstein, all the kids could meet here. It made sense to. Xavier's house was practically smack dab in the middle, between all the others. Only Rosie, who's last name they had found out was Smith the other day, couldn't come here, for obvious reasons. Cash felt sorry for her, and wanted to do something to help her, and he also wanted to catch the group before they had chance to pull another stunt. But, so far, the paper was getting him nowhere. ' Cash, what do you think?' " Huh? Did you say something, Britt?' ' I said, what do you think?" ' What do I think about what, sis?" "Have you been listening to what we've been talking about at all?" " No, not really." " You've got to be kidding me. You weren't listening? This is a serious conversation." " Yeah. I mean, don't you think they're rushing into things? They've only been on four dates, and they're already engaged. That doesn't strike you in anyway, Cash?" Eleanor asked. "Nope." " How can you talk like that, when we're all wigging out?" Brittany asked. " Two reasons. One, it's none of my business what they do. And two, I know that this is just how the Ortiz family works." 'Okay, explain that to me." Brittany said. " well, it goes back to when we were kids. Back to Jerry's dad. He always told us that, if you want something to happen in life, you have to do all you can to make it happen. That means diving right in and getting it done. That's the Ortiz family way. Matter of fact, do you know how many dates Jerry's dad told me he went on with Jerry's mom before he proposed to her?" " no." ' On less than Jerry and Kelly. They went on three dates. That's it. And she still said yes. And, as e know, Jerry's like his dad in both the good and bad ways."" but you saved him from the bad." Katrina said. ' Right, which leaves only the good. So, if I know Jerry and his dad like I think I do, I know we have nothing to worry about." " And why is that?" Jeanette asked. 'Because, just like Jerry, Jerry's dad had no ring when he proposed. He saved up for three months to get the ring he thought Jerry's mom deserved, and Jerry will probably do the same. So, they've got plenty time to get more dates under their belts." 'I suppose so, but, you don't think rushing it like this will affect their marriage?" Jeanette asked. " I didn't affect Jerry's parent's marriage. Trust me, the Ortiz family maybe quick to get what they want, but they take their sweet time when it comes to enjoying it. That marriage is going to last a long time. They'll take the 'till death do us part line' literally, you'll see." "Well, when you put like that, I guess we don't have to worry." Brittany said. " Exactly." " Well now what?" " Daddy!" Liz came running. " What Liz?" " I've got an idea."

New munks

A good time for Rosie

" Well, let's hear it." " Okay. We were all just talking and, we'd like do something nice for Rosie, since she can't hang out like we're doing right now." " Must be contagious, I was just thinking the same thing." cash said. 'Good. So, here's my idea. Rosie seemed to enjoy herself at Disneyland, not just because she was at Disneyland at night, but because she was hanging out with us and Kathy. So, we'd like to spend some more time with her. And, the way I see it, those nights in Florida were kind of like a giant sleep over. So, why don't a sleep over and invite her?" " That sounds like a great idea, Liz. Get all the girls together and have a party." Brittany said. " Hey, we want to party with our buddies too." Tom said. " Okay then, we'll have two parties. One for the girls, and one for the guys. We'll invite Rosie, and of course we'll have Kathy, Jessica and Debbie here come too. We should probably call up Harry's girls, so they can come hang out with Rosie too. Meanwhile, Rex and his brothers can come to the guys party, and hang out with you boys, and Cash, and get to meet Vick. And we'll have them here, is that okay with you, Grandpa?" " It sounds fine to me, Brittany. So long as the kids have fun." " Alright then, tomorrow night's the night then." The next night. 'You have your replacement glasses, in case the ones you have on get broken?" " yes, dad." " What bout your phone? In case you need to call me or your mom." 'I got it dad, but, I'm only going over grandpa's. What could happen?" ' He has a point Simon." 'I guess so. Alright, well, are you ready to roll then?" 'Yeah." " Alright, say goodnight bye and goodnight to your mom.' " night mom. I'll see you tomorrow." " Good bye, Tony. Have a good time, and go to sleep a proper time. Don't stay up _all_ night." " Okay, mom. Bye." Later that night, Rosie was greatly enjoying herself. Currently, she was listening to the other girls sing 'girl just want to have fun.' But, she and Kathy both heard the guys singing some much more entertaining songs, and slipped off to join them when the others weren't looking. Five minutes later. " Where'd Kathy go?" Olivia asked. " Jessica, where'd you niece slip off to?" Eliza asked." I don't know. I wasn't told that I was supposed to watch her." " Where ever she went, she took Rosie with her." Nikki noted. 'I hear giggling. Little girl giggling.' Roxy said. ' Follow that giggle.' They followed the sound down the hall, and saw the girls in the guys room. ' They stole our girls. Well, two can play this game." Eliza said. The girls laid in wait, and waited for one of the guys to leave the room. The opportunity presented itself, when Cash had to go to the bath room. They pounced on him and dragged him back to their side. When the guys noticed he was gone, they went looking for him. They checked the girls room,. Sure enough, there he was. He was pinned down and was having all sorts of make-up forced on him. ' I swear I'm going to kill all of you for this!" Cash yelled. " Liz!" Tom yelled, making Eliza drop the lipstick she had in her hand. " What are you doing to the poor guy?!" " Getting payback for what you did.' 'What are you talking about?" " You know." " Know what?' ' You stole Kathy and Rosie from us." " Is that what this is about? Liz, they came over to our side on their own." " They what?" ' They came over on their own. We didn't make them." "So, I was putting make up on Cash.." " For no good reason, right." " Uh, heh, heh. Sorry about that Cash." Cash glared hatefully at her. " I'm going to make you pay, Eliza. Tom." " Yeah?" "Where does your grandpa keep his matches?" " In the kitchen, I think. Why?" " I'm going to set all of Liz's clothes on fire, as payback." He then left. " Tom! He's your god brother. Talk to him. Stop him!" 'Why? Sounds like a fair trade for the emotional damage you did to him." "Tony! Your a sensible munk. You have to talk to him." " Sorry Liz. You dug your own grave this time, now you have to lay in it." "Ohhh... Ben! Benny, you wouldn't let mean old Cash burn your darling older cousin's clothes, would you?' Eliza asked, trying to sweet talk her little cousin. She even tried the using the puppy dog eyes routine on him. But, to no avail." Sorry, Liz, but my hands are tied. And, anyways, I believe saying goes ' You reap what you sow'." "None of you are going to help me?!" " Why should we?" Vick asked. " You brought this on yourself. It's your mess to clean up, not ours. Your only can only blame and help yourself here." " Ah, I found them!" They heard Cash yell. "Cash! Wait! I'll do whatever you want me to. I'll do whatever it takes to make it up to you! Um, um, you want some cookies? I can bake you some fresh cookies, how does that sound? Or, or, how about video games? I'll buy you a bunch of video games the next time I go shopping. You like that stuff, right? Oh please, wait! Don't this! Wait!" Eliza ran out of the room, desperate to stop cash from setting her beloved clothes on fire. " Do you think he'll really do it?" Roxy asked. " Nah. He's just saying that stuff to scare the living day lights out of Liz. Her clothes are in no danger at all." Tom said. " No danger? Oh, I get it. Her fear is his pay back, am I right?" " Exactly. You hit it right on the nose."


	118. Chapter 118

_New munks_

_Training_

_Two days passed since the parties over at Xavier's. Today, Cash was once again putting Tom through his paces. He honestly felt that, if anyone could, tom could break cash's record for the quickest performance of Laido. In all honesty, Cash felt that Tom was ready to challenge him for the title, but he wasn't going to pressure him. Issuing the challenge was Tom's right, and his alone. Only he could decide when it was time. But, sooner or later, cash knew his son would challenge him, and possibly win. And, though no one really likes losing, he felt a sense of pride in knowing just how far his son had come. He had really matured over the last few months, and Cash was proud. He remembered the situation being nearly identical back with him and Agito. He knew that he'd be proud if his son could out do his record, and he wondered if Agito had felt the same way. " Crud." Tom said. " I messed up." Tom rubbed his shoulder. He'd been practicing non-stop for the past two hours. The quick jerk of the arm it took to perform laido, was hard on the body of a kid. He remembered practicing just like Tom was, and remembering how swore his arm was. He knew that all those jerks put strain on the sword drawing arm. " Why don't you stop for now, Tom? Your arm looks like it could take a break." " yeah, okay. But, you know, I think I'm almost ready to challenge your record, sensei." " I look forward to it. Now, let's go get something to eat." " yes, sensei." " tom?" " yes?" " Training's over, you can call me dad again." " Ha-ha, sorry dad. I start calling you sensei in here and it gets hard to stop." " It's alright. I did the same thing with Agito. Speaking of that, I think I should take a trip out to his grave at some time. We've got this weekend off, maybe I will then." " Can I come? I can't remember the last time I went to grandpa's grave.' " Yeah, it's been a few years hasn't it?" " At least two. So, can I?" ' Of course." " Cool, road trip with my dad, the greatest chipmunk alive." " Such praise. What are you trying to get me to buy you?" "Nothing." 'uh-huh. What do you want?" "I can't pull anything on you, can I?' 'Nope. Now what is it?" tom reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He then handed it to his father. Cash unfolded it to reveal an ad for a mail order company. The item advertised was an odd looking guitar. "you want me to buy you an ax guitar?" "yeah." "why?" 'Because it's cool looking and, if you turn it side ways, you can actually use it like a real axe, you know, for chopping wood.' "We don't have a fire place, so, what would you do with this thing?" "Show off." Cash repressed his urge to laugh. "People keep saying he's become the new me, but I still see some Alvin in him." he thought. 'well, dad?" "we'll see." "Please?" "Hmm, well.. Ah! I've got it. When your ready, you challenge me for the laido record. And when you beat me, I'll buy the guitar for you, okay?' 'Cool. But, what if I screw up?" 'I never said you had to nail it on the first try. I'm not going to hold it against you if it takes a couple of tries. It wouldn't be fair." ' Huh?" ' I've never told anyone else this but, it took me about three tries to beat Agito." " Really?" ' Yup. I got really close the first time, then even closer the second time. I swung as hard as I could the last time and pulled it off. I don't think I've ever swung that old sword of mine that hard since then. I hope you don't have to swing that hard, cause I think I heard my shoulder pop because I swung so hard." "To pop your own shoulder, now that's speed. For you, dad, forget swinging hard enough to pop my shoulder, I'm gonna have to swing hard enough to dislocate it."_

_New munks_

_The anniversary_

"_Well, let's hope not. Your mom would kill me if you hurt yourself like that. She'd probably chop me up with my own sword." "I don't think mom would do that." "Well, let's just not find out if she would or not, okay? Try to keep your arm in it's socket." "Okay, dad." Ding-dong. "Huh? The door bell?" 'Are we expecting somebody dad?" "No, not that I know of. I know your mom went to the store with Eleanor a while back but, surely she didn't forget her keys." Ding-dong. "Maybe she did. Better go let her in." 'Right." Ding-dong. "I'm coming." Cash opened the door to reveal Vinny, standing on the door step. "Oh, hey mom. What are you doing here?" " just had to get out of the house today and I thought, so long as I'm out, I might as well stop in and visit." "Well, alright, come on in.' "Hi, grandma!" " Hello, baby. Where's your sister?" 'Uh, in her I think." " Is she still asleep? I thought Katrina had her up before she left. Oh well, go get her Tom." 'Okay, dad." "Man, I can't believe that I got so wrapped up in today's training that I forgot to go check on Nell. Oh well, no harm done I suppose. Well, why don't you go sit in the den, mom, and I'll bring us something to drink.' 'Alright dear." A moment later. "Here you go, mom, a cup of sweet tea. Katrina's been tea kick lately, so we've got a whole pitcher full of that stuff in the fridge. I'm not even sure what flavor it is, because I don't drink that stuff." Cash said, shaking his can of mountain dew. Vinny stared at the drink and then took a sip. 'hmm, I didn't know they made raspberry flavored sweet tea." 'So it's raspberry flavored, I didn't know that." Mother and son continued talking, particularly about how quickly Vinny had recovered from the wreck. However, Vinny soon grew listless. Like she had something on her mind, but wasn't able to find the words to express it. "Something wrong, mom?" "Uh, well... Cash, can I be perfectly honest with you?" "Yeah, sure." "I didn't come over here on a whim like I told you I did." "Okay, so, why did you come?" "I have a problem, and I need your expertise to deal with it." "I'm an expert in a lot of things, mom, your gonna have to explain this one to me." "Well, it's about Andy." 'Alright.' 'Since I've been laid up for a while, I've had nothing else to do but watch life go on with out me at home. But, it's not all bad. I've learned some things about the others that didn't know before because I was so busy. Like, the fact that Geneva's right twitches when she's mad. I noticed when James harassed her a little about not shining the family photos in the den. But, this is about Andy, not Geneva." "Right, go on." "Well, lately, Andy's been really out of it. Every morning, he comes down stairs and then just stops and stares at the calendar, before sitting down for breakfast. When I ask what's wrong, he tells me that nothing is wrong and then changes the subject. And I know that something is wrong." "Well mom, I hate to point out the obvious but, it sounds like you should talk to Patty about this, not me. I'm sure she could tell you what's going on." "But that's why I'm here, honey. I've talked to Patty and she's told me what's wrong." 'And?' 'Cash, today is the anniversary of Andy's father's passing." "I see. That'll put you in a funk alright. So, let me guess. You think, because I went through close to the same thing with Agito, I can talk to Andy and snap him out of it?" "Yes, Exactly." "Alright, let's go. But first, Kids!" "Yes daddy?" "Well, look who woke up." "I've been up. I've just been reading all morning is all." "Well that's okay then, now let's go." "Where are we going?" "Grandpa's." " Well, okay. Now where are my shoes?"_

_New munks_

_Life without a father_

" _Welcome back, Vinny." " Hello to you Geneva. Um, do you know where Andy is?" " I believe that he's sitting on the patio out back." " Okay. Cash..." " I know. I'll go talk to him. Kids, keep grandma and Geneva company." ' How?" Tom asked. " well, who wants to help me make cookies?" Vinny asked. " I do, I do!" Helen yelled. " Tom?" Vinny asked her grandson. " Eh, why not?" " Okay. Have fun. This won't take long." Cash wandered outside. He took one look at Andy, who had noticed him already, but hadn't said anything to him, and then looked up at the sky. " It's funny, isn't it?" " Huh? What's funny, Cash?" " That, despite all that's going on around us right now, the world can still be so peaceful." " Yeah, I guess that is a little funny." Cash walked over to the chair on the other side of the table, across from Andy. " Yeah, it's amazing what you'll see if you just stop and take time to count your blessings." " I guess so." " ' sigh' I guess that trying to be non-chalant about this isn't going to work, huh? Alright, I'll just be frank then. Andy, mom's noticed that you've seem kind of down lately, and she knows why, and she wanted me to talk to you." ' What?' ' She wants me to talk to you, so that you'll snap out of the funk that today has put you in. We know today is the anniversary of your dad's death." " Oh, yeah." " Yup, that's definitely what's bumming you out." " And why shouldn't I be bummed out? My father was the only one who constantly supported me when I was growing up. He even talked Mum into supporting me when I took advantage of the opportunity and joined the royal marines. He was a great man. And, you know what it's like, right? To lose such a great father?" " Yeah, I do." " Well, why doesn't it bother you?' " Because I know some things." " Like what?" " Well, I know that Agito isn't really gone. He's always hanging around somewhere, watching over me. That's how I think I survived my trip to find my brothers all those years ago. I also think that he kept me from going crazy due to the loneliness." " How did he do that?" " Well, it's kind of hard to explain. It's like, um.. Oh, I know. Let's put it this way. Have you ever been alone, you know, separated from your mom or whoever?" " Of course." " Right. And your mind tells you that your alone and that you should feel alone, right?" " Yeah." " But, despite what your mind tells you, your heart is telling you that your not alone, right? That there's somebody there, keeping you company, but you just can't see them. Have you ever felt like that?" " Well, now that you mention it, yes. But, lately, I've just been thinking that was Kirsty watching out for me." " And it is. No doubt about it. But, do you think she's the only one?' " What do you mean?" " Let's put it this way. If your dad was so great, do you think that he'd just leave you, his only son, to face the world and protect your mom by yourself? I don't think so. I think he stuck around, just make sure that he was there if you needed him." " I see what you mean, but.." " You know, when I'm feeling down, and even doubting myself at times, and I have no one else around, I hear a voice. The voice is comforting, and it makes me feel better and more confident. It puts that ' I can do this' mentality back in me. And, there's no doubt in my mind, that's Agito, rooting me on from the after life. Have you ever heard something like that?" ' Well, Yes. Actually, I hear two voices. One I know is Kirsty's, but the other, I didn't recognize. It sounded like a man's voice though. I guess that could be my father. But, if it is, then why didn't why I recognize it?' " Well, it has been a while and you have been through a lot. You've had to split your attention so many different ways that what his voice sounded like slipped your mind." " That makes sense. You know it is him." ' Right." ' But, cash, how do I keep from forgetting again? How do you keep from forgetting what Agito's voice sounded like?' " Well, I do things that remind me of my with him. You have no idea how many memories come flooding back when I'm training Tom. So long as I keep doing things like that, I can never forget. I'm even going on a little road trip with Tom this weekend to visit his grave." ' I see. So, all I have to do is do things that my father and I used to do together, and then I won't forget anymore?" " Exactly. It's just like how you can't forget what Kirsty's voice sounded like, so long as you wear that ring she gave you. Do things that you and your dad used to do together, and I'm sure you'll remember. And, if it sounds like fun, don't hesitate call me or any of the others up. That way we can all enjoy it, like the family we've told you your a part of." "Yeah, okay." " And Andy, don't forget about that fact. Don't forget that your a part of this family. If you've got a problem, don't hesitate to tell any of us. Talk to mom about the things that are bothering you. I'm sure that, if she can't help you, she'll at least call up one or more of us that can. Remember, being a family means that no one is left out of anything. No one is left to face the hardships of life alone. Family watches out for family. And in the end, at least for this family, that's world's only truth. So many lies can be spread around, but the fact that this family will always stick together is never going to be anything but the truth. You understand what I'm saying?" ' Yeah, I do." ' Good. So, are your feeling better now?' ' Yeah. Thanks for the pep talk." " No problem. I'm happy to help. And you know, you really shouldn't get all bummed out about this again." ' Why not?' ' Because, your going to be able to see him again one day. That's a promise, and it comes the man upstairs, so you know it's true too." ' Good point." " Daddy! Andy!" ' What is it Nell?" Cash asked. ' Here, try some of the cookies. Made this batch special for you guys, because how much you both like cinnamon." " Ah, cool, thanks Nell.' " No problem Andy. Well, what are you waiting for? Eat. And tell me if there's anything I need to change to make them any better." " Okay, Okay. Calm down, honey. We're eating them." Cash said. Andy and Cash bit into the cookies, which turned out to be hard and had way to way too much cinnamon them. They reeked of it in all actuality. " Well?" ' They're really good Nell. But, next time, whip the eggs." Cash said. " huh?" " The cookies are kind of hard and your aunt Eleanor says that whipping the eggs before you put them into the batter will make the cookies softer." " I see." " And, go a little lighter on the cinnamon next time." Andy said. " Yeah. I mean, how much cinnamon did you put on these things?" Cash asked his daughter. " A teaspoon each." " Yeah, that's a little too much. Just go with a pinch of cinnamon next time." " Okay." Helen said, sounding defeated. " Hey, don't get depressed, Nell. They're not bad." ' Really?" " No, they're not bad at all. They're pretty good. You did good a job. You just need to change those little things and they'll be perfect.' " Okay, daddy. I'll remember that for next time. Thanks for being honest." " No problem." Once she was out of earshot, Andy said " You know, those weren't bad, but they were the hardest cookies I've ever had to eat." ' At least she's trying." ' Yeah. Let's hope the next ones are better." ' Yeah. I'm sure they will be." ' Good, because I don't think that my teeth can take another batch of rocks like that." Andy began laughing at that comment. Cash was glad to see his friend laughing again, though he wished that it wasn't at his daughter. " Oh well, You can't get everything you want."_


	119. Chapter 119

_New munks_

_Primrose_

" _Your healthy as ever, Eliza." Doctor Samson said. " I told you mom." " I know, I know. But, it never hurts to be a little cautious." Today, the chipmunks had taken their kids for their monthly check up. Doctor Samson, proving his talent for multi=tasking, had been and still was the new munks' pediatrician. So far, none of the kids had gotten anything but a clean bill of health. " Okay, Ben. Your up." Ben hopped onto the little stool." Okay, open your mouth and say 'ah'." " 'ah'." " Uh-huh, I see." " what is it Doc?" Theodore asked. " Well, Theo, I'm no dentist, but, I'd say your son has cavities. Probably from eating a lot of candy." " Ben..." Eleanor said. " What?" " Care to explain why you have cavities, when I've been trying to cut you back on the candy?" " Um, they were there before the cut back?" " Not according to your last dentist appointment they weren't." " Then I don't know." " Benjamin David Seville." " Okay, okay, I admit it. I've snacked a little behind your back, mom. I'm sorry." " 'sigh' Oh, honey, what am I ever going to do with you?" " I don't know. Give me candy?" " Baby bro, your already in trouble, don't push it." Olivia told him. A few minutes, and Ben swearing to go cold turkey on candy for at least a week, later, the munks were set to leave the hospital. " There you are Andy." Brittany said. " Well, how did your physical go?" Katrina asked. " Doctor said I'm fit as a fiddle." " Well that's good." Katrina said. " Who'd you get for your doctor, Andy?" " I believe her name was doctor Roberta Lockhart." 'You got her?" Brittany asked. " Yes. Why? Is that a problem?" " No, it's just that, I haven't heard that name in so long." ' Huh?" " Doctor Lockhart, along with Doctor Samson, was the doctor who told us the good news when we were pregnant Tom, Liz, Libby and Tony respectively." Katrina said. ' So, she was the doctor who first told you that you were pregnant." ' Yup." Eleanor added. " I see." ' Well, now what are we gonna do?" Alvin asked. " I don't know. I didn't have any other plans for today. Did anybody else?" Brittany asked. The others shook their heads. " uh, hey Al?" " Yeah, Cash?" " I know it got put off because of bad weather, but, aren't the soccer tournament finals this Thursday?" " Oh, crap, your right! I forgot! Uh, kids, quick. Outside. there's a little park outside the hospital. Come on, we've only got two days to prepare. We got drills to run." " 'groan' Do we have to do it right now, uncle Alvin?" Tony asked. ' Yes!" " 'sigh' fine. Come on, guys. Let's go." " Cash." ' Yeah Al?" " Call Xavier, Frankie, Jason and Larry. We need our other coach and our other players." " What about Debbie?" " Oh, yeah, she's our alternate. Better get her warmed up too. Well, what are you waiting for man? Hop to it." ' Yes sir!" Cash joked and pulled out his phone while Alvin lead the kids outside. Andy sat and watched the kids play. He watched as Eliza delivered a massive kick to the ball. " Man, I feel sorry for anybody she hits with that leg." He said to himself. Andy noticed a man, wearing hospital scrubs, walk by. He figured he was a hospital employee and he was break. So, he thought nothing more of it at the time. But, as the soccer practice wore on, there was something about the man that was nagging at Andy. From time to time, he could hear the man sigh. And it wasn't just any sigh. It was a ' I have problem' kind of sigh. Finally, Andy decided to go check it out. " Hey, are you alright?" he asked. " huh?" the man looked up. " Andy?" " Zak!" It was Andy's old marines buddy, Zak Primrose. "It's good to see you Andy." " Same here. So, how's it going?"_

_New munks_

_Theological differences_

" _Not well, Andy. Not well." " Well, don't just sit there, Maverick. Tell old Blaze what's wrong." " Man, I haven't heard those nicknames in so long." " Yeah, yeah, we can reminisce later. Now, your problem is...?" " It's a long story Andy.' " I've got time." Cash and others, even Alvin to some degree, noted Andy talking to a man they hadn't seen before. So, they decided to eavesdrop a little. " Well, it started a month ago. I had just settled in with my wife, Donna. We were so looking forward to our new life here in America. But, one day, Donna went off to work and then didn't come back. She works like clock work. She was always home at 5:06 on the dot. I know, because I would always get back just a few prior. But, then that day came. 5:06 became 6:06, and then seven. Knowing her the way I do, I was immediately concerned that something had happened to her. So, I went out looking for her. Put that old Marines training to good use, you know?" Andy nodded. " I used all my skills, but my search turned out to be futile. So, I had to wait. Though I feared it, I had no evidence at that time to say that she'd been kidnapped, and I knew the person had to be missing for forty-eight hours before you can file a missing persons claim. I had no choice but to go to bed, and pray for her return. But, God must have been busy, because I didn't get what I wanted come the next day." ' I doubt God would go about taking care of everybody like he does and then not help you, Zak. Maybe you just didn't pray hard enough." ' Maybe. But then, how do you explain what happened that next morning?" ' I can't, because I don't know what happened yet. Tell me what happened, and then I'll try to explain it." " Well, the next morning, I received the one piece of mail I hoped I'd never get. A ransom note. How do you explain that?' ' Well, as a good friend of mine would say, that's and example of life sucking. But, you can't blame God for that." ' There you go again. Getting all preachy." " I'm not being preachy. I'm just saying that you can't blame God for this." " Oh, can't I? He's the one who decides everything isn't he?" " No. Man kind either chooses their fate, or has it thrust upon them This is one of those times where fate, or whatever you wish to call it, dealt you a bad hand." ' Yeah, sure, whatever. I know one thing. If my prayers aren't answered soon, I'm giving up on God." ' You can't do that." ' Watch me." " 'sigh' Please, stay agnostic for a little while longer. Meanwhile, I'll think of something." ' Your gonna help me?" " Of course. Despite our theological differences, you were and still are one of my good friends." ' Thanks Andy." " No problem. So, who took her?' ' A local gang. They call themselves the monsters." This caught, Simon, Theodore and even Alvin's attention. " Excuse me, but, did you say the monsters took your wife?" Simon asked. "Yes." "I thought we were done with those guys." Theodore said. " Apparently not." Simon said. " Excuse me?" Zak asked. " Oh, Zak, these are my friends and employers, the Seville family. You know them better as the chipmunks." " uh, hi." " yeah, hi. So, can you tell us anything else about your wife's kidnapping?" Cash asked. " How'd you know?' Andy asked. " We were eavesdropping this whole time. Sorry. But, that's not important right now. Can you think of anything that might us help you find her?" ' No." " Come on, there must be something." Eleanor said. ' Try to think, Zak." Jeanette said. " I'm sorry. I can't think of anything else." "Agh, this is getting us nowhere. It's best to just go to the source." Alvin said. "Where are you going?" Simon asked. " To find Butch."_

_New munks_

_Traitors_

_Alvin launched an exhaustive search for Butch. He had plenty of questions for the leader of the monster gang. It had taken him nearly two hours, even with his family's help, but he managed to figure out where he was. They had gone to see everybody who could possibly know where butch lived or hung out. They had even gone so far as to go and visit his parents. Finally, they found themselves at a greasy auto-repair shop on the west side. " This is where he works?" Brittany asked. " It's kind of a dump, huh?" Katrina asked. ' Who cares?" Alvin asked. ' Just find Butch." As if responding to Alvin's command, a man came walking out of the store. ' Hey, is that him?" Eleanor asked. " it sure is." Simon said. " Hey, where's Alvin?" They looked o see Alvin marching over to Butch. They then saw him punch him and knock him down. By the time they got over to them, Alvin had Butch pinned to the wall. " You son of a bitch!" Alvin yelled. " I made you stop harassing Michael, and pull the monsters extortion scam out of the north side, for a reason. Somewhere inside, I was hoping that you'd see the 'error of your ways' or whatever, and that you wouldn't turn into another one of those idiots that we have to fight over and over, and what do you do instead? You take to kidnapping people. And not just any people. You kidnap women, who are basically just fresh off the boat from another country. I ought to punch your face in!" " What in the hell are you talking about Alvin?' Butch asked. " And now your trying to play dumb? Oh that's it, I really am going to punch your face in!" 'Alvin stop!" Cash said. " Why? We know that he knows where Zak's wife is. And, beating him up a little is the only way he'll talk." " First off Alvin, I don't think that he has a clue about what your talking about. And secondly, you don't have beat people in order to get them to talk. Sometimes, words can be more convincing than fists. Sometimes, it's better to take a pacifistic approach. So, you go take a breather for a second and let me talk to him." Alvin looked at Butch. " You are so lucky that Cash is here." " Okay, Butch, this can be really easy for you. Just tell us where Mrs. Primrose is and you can go." ' Who the hell are you talking about?" " Just like I thought. He doesn't know who she is. Meaning that he doesn't know what's going on." "But, he's the leader of the monsters, and the monsters kidnapped Donna, so, how could he not know, Cash?" Andy asked. " It's because I'm not the leader anymore." " What?" Alvin asked. " I was booted out." " So, if your not the leader, who is?" Theodore asked. " That Benedict Arnold, Johnny." "'pbft'" Brittany let out before she started laughing. ' Man, out of all the bad guys we've beaten, he has to have the least evil name of them all." she said. " You want evil? Alright. Know what his last name is?" " No, what?" " It's Alucard. His full name is Jonathan Alucard." " Alucard? But, isn't that..." Theodore started. " Yeah. It's Dracula spelled backwards. And it's a perfect name. Ever since he joined the gang, he was bleeding me dry. Sucking out every bit of useful information he could with his endless supply of questions. I never knew why he wanted to know so much, but I get it. He was trying to set me up. By finding out what tactics worked when it came to controlling the gang, and who the oldest members, and thus the most power-hungry, were, he set me up. Lured me into a sense of security and then stabbed in the back, just like Brutus and Julius Caesar. Talk about your 'et tu brute'." " I think I slept through that class. What's 'et tu brute' ?" Theodore asked. " Caesar's famous last words. They mean 'you too Brutus?" Simon said. " Oh, I see. So, you weren't expecting it." " Hell no. I never thought much of him. He was just a leech to me. You know, one of those idiots who latches onto the strongest of the group and bleeds him dry of everything useful. He didn't seem like he was capable of much, so I let him hang around. I thought, maybe I could teach him a few things, and make him into a competent gangster yet." " Oh, like an apprentice or something?" Theodore asked. " Yes. Jeez, I'm such an idiot! I was doing exactly what he wanted me to. He wanted to know what the best way to the lead the gang was and I told him. He wanted to know who had been in the group the longest and I told him. And, why oh why did I tell him the most ruthless members where?" ' Yeah, that should have been a red flag right there." Katrina said. ' Don't remind me. And once had all this information, he went about getting his Cassius and all the other back stabber together." ' Did you say Cassius?" Cash asked. " No Cash. He said Cassius, as in ancient Greek. Not Cassius, like Mohammed Ali." Simon said. " Man, Cash doesn't even like names that sound like his. Why does he hate his name so much? What did Ali do?" Theodore asked. " It has nothing to do with what Ali did, it's about what Cassius did. Mom says that she picked that name for Cash, and based that decision on Mohammed Ali because, from that perspective, the name Cassius represents strength. And there was also a saint with that name too. But, if you look at it with it's first user in mind, since Cassius is basically a fast way of saying Cassius, then it means some pretty bad things. Things that insult Cash's character and that's why he doesn't like it." Simon said. "Oh, I get it. But, if he doesn't like his name so much, why doesn't he change it, like Ali did?" "Cash said that there are few gifts a mother and father can give a child more important than their name. It's an important gift mom and dad gave him, so he doesn't want to give it up. He prefers to think about the good things about it. The strength aspect, from Mr. Ali, and the over all sense of goodness from Saint Cassius. It's just that, for whatever reason, when he hears his full name, it summons up all the aspects of the name. And what usually springs out first when you think about something with multiple parts to it?" "The bad part." "Right. So, to avoid thinking about that, and being able to enjoy the gift of his name, Cash prefers to be called Cash, which is Cassius shortened. Make sense?" 'Yeah. But, who told you all that, Sy?" 'Cash himself.' "I see. He's really smart isn't he? To think something through that far." 'That's why he's the leader." Then they turned their attention back to the conversation with Butch. "Okay, let's go over this one more time. Just so I've got it. You were harassing Mike and extorting money out of Tommy's neighborhood. Alvin got wind and he and the guys came to stop you. He challenged you and, if and when he won, you'd have to leave Mike alone and get rid of the extortion scam.' Cash said. "Right." "And that's when Johnny sprung his trap. He used the most seasoned members to convince the others to kick you out and, when you wouldn't go, he used the ruthless members to throw you out. Then, he took over and now your here." "Yeah. Look, I don't really wanna go back to that life. I got a nice girl now, and she says she'll stay with me, but only if I don't go back. Which is fine with me. Running that thing was headache anyway. But, I do have my pride to think about and to see him locked up, well, that'd make me feel a little better. And, if he has turned to kidnapping folks like that, I can't turn away. I extorted money yeah, but I never put folks in real danger. I told my collectors to scare them, but not hurt them. That said, he has to be stopped. I think I know where to find him and maybe that girl. I'll tell you where to go."_


	120. Chapter 120

New munks

Repentance

" Where the hell are we, Butch?" Alvin asked. " Oh, Jesus." Andy moaned. " What?" Brittany asked. The munks left their kids with Xavier, despite their arguments, except Tony of course. He never really wanted to fight but, like his father before him, he was constantly drawn into things by others. And, though he hated to admit, he couldn't walk away from some one in trouble after he'd seen them. He tried once and it ate away at him. " Well?" " I know this bar." Andy replied. ' Didn't know you hit the bar scene, Andy. Got anything else that you'd like to tell us?" " I don't do the bar scene, Brittany. I just came here once, because it's in the heart of the baddest neighborhood in the city and I needed information." " What kind?" " The kind that lead to me being able to tell you where to find Frankenstein that first time." " So that's how you did it." Cash said. " All you told us was that you talked to a few people and got the information you wanted. I thought it was a little more complicated than that." Simon said. " I'm sorry about not telling you everything." " But, why didn't you?" Theodore asked. " Because of how Cash was at the time. You saw how he reacted when I told you all the basics of what I'd done. I knew that, if he heard the whole truth back then, it would only put more stress on him. Now that I think about it, either way stressed him out, but the way I went with, at least it seemed to me, stressed him the least." " Well, I guess that's okay then." The others nodded. " So, what's this place's name?" Katrina asked. " It's called the devil's maw." Andy answered. " Nice name." Eleanor said sarcastically. " So, this is where you think they're keeping Donna, Butch?" Alvin asked. " If they aren't keeping her here, we'll at least find out where to go. Johnny always liked to hang out here with the members he was closest to. Those back stabbers.... Anyways, I'm sure at least one of them is here and we can beat a few answers out of him." " Why do you want to beat people so much?" Jeanette asked. ' These guys double crossed me and I'm the former leader of a gang. Violence is second nature to me." " Fair enough, though it's a little sad." " Whatever. I'm working on fixing it, aren't I?" " True." " Well, there you go." " Well, if this place is the key, then we should stop yapping and finish this off already." Alvin said. " Why's he so set on this?" Butch asked. " he thought we were done dealing with he monsters after he eat you and then this pops up. It's kind o annoying him, and he goes a little far when he gets annoyed. Not to mention the fact that this is interrupting our kids soccer practice, and their tournament finals are this Thursday. Alvin's their coach and he really wants to them to win." Simon said. ' I see. Well, let's hurry up and do this so that you can get back to your 'precious' kiddies." They then approached the bar. " You again?" The bouncer asked when he saw Andy. ' Didn't you cause enough trouble the last time?" " What did you do here exactly?" Katrina asked. " I'll tell you later." " Fair enough." " Look, we have a feeling that somebody in there may know where a friend of mine's wife is being held prisoner, and we wanna talk to them." ' Well, alright. But, you start another fight, I'm not bailing you out.' " Fine." They entered and Butch quickly noticed a familiar face. " Johnny!" " Aw shit! Butch!" Johnny attempted to run, but the group cut him off in the back alley. After letting Butch take his shots at Johnny, the munks locked him in the back of Alvin's car and called the cops. Butch had disappeared by the time the cops got there. " Are we really gonna let Butch go like that?" 'Look, Theo. It's over, let him do what he wants. That's what I say. If he thinks that this is enough penance for what he's done, fine. If he turns himself in and faces the music, that's fine too. But, regardless of the future, he's done what he wanted to do for right now. He's done his part and we've done ours, so let's let it go. I mean, I can hear Johnny from here. He's already squealing where to find Donna. That's what we all wanted. On top of that, he's giving names of the big wigs in the gang. The monsters are through, for good this time. Now all we gotta do, is go pick up Donna and reunite her with Zak." Alvin said. " I suppose your right. All we should focus on now is finding Donna. Speaking of which, hey, Officer?" " Yes?' ' Where did he say they were keeping Mrs. Primrose?" " In a house down the street. He says it's his and she's locked up in the main bed room. He also said that she's the only there right now."' I don't wanna know what he was planning to do to her in that bedroom, but, if it's not too much trouble, can you just give us the address and we'll go get her? We just wanna reunite her with her husband, because he's old of our friend Andy over there. And, you can question her and everything else later, can't you?" " Well, yes, I suppose. We'll have t question her pretty much first thing tomorrow, but I doubt the chief would mind letting you go get her and taking her home for the evening. Here's the address." ' Thank you." A hour later, the munks found themselves watching the tearful reunion of Mr. And Mrs. Primrose. " Oh, there is a God." Zak said. " I prayed that you would be able to her find her and bring her back to me by the end of the day and he answered it." "I told you, Zak. You just have to have a little faith. The lord will provide if you do." " You were absolutely right. Oh man, I've got to make up my unfaithfulness some how." " Well, why don't you and Donna to church on Sunday?" Cash asked. " Do you sing there, or do you take the day off because it's Sunday?" " Nope. We sing the hymns and praise God, just like everybody else, every Sunday." ' Well, what do you think Donna? I'll go if you go." " Are you serious about going?" " Well, I'd like to. But, if your not feeling up to it, I can stay home to look after you." ' Are you kidding? You, Zak Primrose, who has sat on the fence about his beliefs for so long, are finally deciding to accept God and Jesus and go to church, like I've been pleading with you to? I'd have to be out of my mind not to go. I'd pay money to see you get up and testify. Maybe we can even have you rebaptized and then we can join the church. That way, we'd get a sure fire means to see all these wonderful people at least once a week. That will be what will happen right?" "Unless something really important, like a death or illness in the family, comes up, we're there every Sunday. So, yes." Cash said. "I thought you were planning to go to Agito's grave with Tom this weekend.." Simon said. "Well, it may be a seven hour trip, three to get up there, an hour to visit the grave and then goof off in my old hometown, and then three to get back but, hey, neither one of us has got anything better to do this Saturday." "So you'll be there?" Donna asked. "Wouldn't miss it. Just don't go and decide not to come at the last minute." "We wouldn't dream of it." "Good." 'So, are we done here? I gotta go get the kids and get back to training." Alvin said. ' "Yeah. We're done."" Good. Training time." "Just get the kids home before dark!" Eleanor yelled. "Yeah, yeah, I know. See ya." "Chipmunks." Donna said. "Yeah?" The remaining munks answered. "I want to thank you again. For all you've done for me, for us, today." "Eh, don't worry about it." Cash said. "We really didn't do that much in all honesty." Simon said. "But you still had the heart to brave that kind of neighborhood, a literal hell hole if you ask me, all for the sake of a stranger. So, please, accept my thanks." "Well, alright. And, your welcome."

New munks

Champions

" Sink it, Liz!" " With pleasure!" Eliza delivered a massive kick to the ball and that sealed the deal. The tournament game they had spent the last two days, stopped only by their parents going off to rescue Donna the day before yesterday, training for was over and team chipmunk reigned supreme. " We won!" Tony shouted. Debbie dashed out onto the field to congratulate her teammates. " Hey, you did as much as we did." Tom said. This was true. In the first half, Vick had sat out and Debbie was part of the starting line up. Then they switched during half time. But, she had shown off her skills and had most definitely proved that she deserved to be on the team. The phrase' earning your keep' couldn't describe how hard Debbie had played. " Debbie." Kelly said. " Mom, dad, we won!" Kelly still couldn't get over Debbie calling her mom but, much like Juliet with Kathy, she enjoyed it. " We saw dear." She said to her would-be step daughter. " You did a good job, Debbie." Jerry said. Debbie beamed at this praise. " Guys!" Kathy came yelling, as the team gathered together for the championship cup presentation ceremony. " You guys were awesome!" 'They all did really well." Jerry said. " You said it!" Kathy returned. " If only Rosie could have seen this." Olivia said. " But she did.' Kathy said. " Huh?' ' Look up there. See the person completely covered up, sitting up next to my dad in the stands?" " Yeah.' " That's rosie." " Your kidding." " Nope. She wanted see you guys win, like I told her you would, so she put all that on to protect herself and came along with us." " Oh, then she is definitely coming to the after party. Go tell her that she's

not allowed to argue. She's coming, whether she wants to or not. Go tell her that." Olivia said. " Will do.' "Come on, you guys. We got a trophy to accept!" Tom yelled. " Coming!" " It gives me great pleasure to award this years championship trophy to Team chipmunk." Said the chairman of the league. "They have proven that, through team work anything is possible. I won't lie. I was told by a good number of people, a lot whom are here actually, that they would lose. But, they, believed they could succeed and, obviously, they were right to do so. And on a personal note, I have to say to you, that that was some of the best soccer playing that I have seen in a long time. It's been a pleasure to watch you rise out of the exhibition leagues and battle your way here. I can only hope that you will be back next season." "We will be." Tom said. "But first, let's give it up for our opponents. I'll tell you guys, there was a couple of times that I thought you had us made. So, thanks. It was a lot of fun and I hope we end up playing you guys again next season." "And they have good sportsmanship. Alright then, without further ado, it gives me great pleasure to award you the championship trophy and crown you our new league champions!" At the after party, Rosie was allowed to remove her extra layers, as the party was at Xavier's mansion and it had no UV lights or open blinds. She was sweaty, but was laughing it up like everyone else. "I'm glad I took the chance and came to see your game. I agree with that chairman guy. That was some great playing. I like Soccer a lot, and I know how to play, but thanks to my condition, i can't. But at least I can root you guys on. I'll try to come to next season's games too.' "Well, thanks Rosie. Hey, maybe if we could find someplace big enough, we could play inside. Then you could play with us." Olivia said. "You'd go through all that trouble, just for me?' "Sure. Anything for our friends."


	121. Chapter 121

_New munks_

_At Grandpa's grave_

" _Hey, Agito." " What's up, Grandpa?" Today was Saturday. That meant that Cash and Tom had made their road trip to Agito's grave. Helen and Katrina, having nothing else to do and Helen saying how she would like to go visit her Grandfather's grave as well, had come. " Hi, Grandpa." Helen said. ' um, uh.. Somebody say something." Tom said. He couldn't understand why, but he always found himself at a loss for words when he came here. " Um, I'm going to be eight years old really soon, Grandpa." Helen said. " Oh that's right. Nell's birthday is in less than a week." Katrina said. " I can't believe that I almost forgot my own daughter's birthday." ' Well, we have been through a lot since the others birthdays, so, I don't blame you mom." Helen said. " Aw, thanks honey. But, that still doesn't change facts. Your still my child, my mini-me, as so many call you, so I should stay on top of these things." " She said it's okay, honey. She understands. Anyways, I doubt it bothers her that much, since she knows that she'll be getting something really nice for her birthday from us, right Nelly?" " Yup." " Do I know our kids or what?" " Yup, father of the year." Katrina said. " I wouldn't go that far. I just do the best I can." " Which just so happens to make you the best dad ever." Tom said. " You want something don't you?" " No. I can't ever praise you guys, with out wanting something? I already got you to agree to buy me that Guitar, if and when I beat you, dad." ' When? Getting cocky, huh?" " Don't act like you don't want him to beat you, honey." " Well, I can't lie in front of Agito, can I?" " Do you think that Grandpa wanted you to beat him?" Tom asked. " He seemed that way." " Hey, daddy?" " Yes, Nell?" ' Do you think grandpa would have liked us? Me and Tom and I mean?" Cash knelt and put his hand on his daughter's head. ' Nell, I can honestly tell you, Agito would have adored you and he'd have been very proud of you, Tom. Just like me." Helen smiled and rubbed her head into her father's hand. " I love you daddy." " I love you too, Nell." " Do you think Grandpa can hear me?" " I'm sure he can." " Well, then, I love you too, Grandpa." " Hey, mom?" ' Yes, Tom?" " How come we never go to Grandma Macy's grave?" " It's on the other end of the state, honey. I grew up in South California, while your dad grew up in the northern part." " Does that make us neutral?' ' Huh?' " Well, your from the southern part of California, and dad's from the northern part, and you came together to make me and Nell. So, does that make us neutral?" " I can see where your coming from Tom, but I don't think it really matters." Helen said. " Mom and dad are Californians, regardless of what end they grew up in, and that makes us Californians." " Good point, sis. Man, your good at point at putting things in perspective. Must be that big, old, psychic brain in your skull." "Eh, that was an easy one." ' Well, is everybody ready to go?" Cash asked. " But isn't it a little early to go, honey?" Katrina asked. " I just wanted to come and make sure the grave was clean and what not. And it is, though it's strange. I'm the only who does that, that I know of, and I haven't been up here in a while. It's just strangely clean." " Maybe Ken's been up here. This is his Grandfather's grave after all. Or, or maybe it was a good Samaritan." " That sounds more like it. Ken's better at breaking things, than cleaning them. So, everyone ready? We gotta get home, in order to see Zak give his life to the lord tomorrow." ' You think he will?" Katrina asked. " After what he's been through, he'd have to crazy not to." " Good point. Alright, let's go." They stopped in a town to buy gas on the way back. Immediately, the parents assaulted by fans, hungry for autographs. "Somebody help!"_

_New munks_

_Bike shop_

" _He stole my purse!" A woman's voice yelled. " Excuse me ladies." Cash said, and shoved through the crowd. He chased after the man and pinned him to the ground. The girls in the crowd swooned over this slight display of heroics. " Your very lucky to have him as your husband, Katrina." One girl said, acting like she knew her. "Don't I know it." "Better never leave him, cause you'll never get him back." ' No intent on it. I wouldn't have married him and had his kids, if I ever intended to leave him." " Dang!" The girl said, snapping her fingers. Clearly, she, like many other fan girls, wanted Cash to herself. " Here you go, officer." Cash said. " Thanks for the assist, Mr. Seville." " Anytime." " Your so cool, Cash!" One girl yelled. " Sorry ladies." Katrina said, taking up Cash's arm. ' But he's mine." She continued, flashing her wedding ring. As the crowd disbanded, a small girl came forward. " Excuse me, Mister and Missus Seville?" " Yes?" Katrina asked back. 'Um, two things." " Okay." " I have to thank you for getting my mom's purse back." " That woman is your mom?" ' yup." " Well, uh, your welcome." Cash said. " And the other thing?" Katrina asked. ' Could you both sign this?" She asked, holding up a pad of paper and pen. "Sure. Who do we make it out to?" " Kimberly."" Alright." " Tina, what are you doing here? Your supposed to be watching your sister." The woman, who's purse had been stolen and retrieved, came up asking. " Wait, your name's Tina?" Cash asked. " yes." " Then why did you tell us to make it out to Kimberly?" " Kimberly is her sister." The mom said. " She's really sick." Tina said. " She's in that hospital across the street. I looked out the window and saw you getting gas, so I came to get your autograph for her. We're both munks fans, but she's the bigger fan. Ha-ha, you should see her room at home." 'So, you came to get an autograph for her, hoping it would make her feel better?" Helen asked. " yeah, and who are you?" " I'm Helen Seville, and this is my brother Tom. We're Cash and Katrina's kids." " Oh right. I forgot about you guys. And here I read Toddler beat all the time and your in there a lot. How could I forget about you? I'm sorry." ' It's okay. People tend to go a little wacky when they're around our mom and dad. I mean, it's Cash and Katrina. Of the chipmunks! We don't blame you for forgetting." Tom said. " Thank you." All this time, the mother seemed to be examining Cash. "Can I help you, ma'am?" Cash asked. "I know I know you from some where." " Didn't you hear what I just said? This is Cash Seville, like, the greatest hero slash rock star ever." Cash covered his son's mouth. ' okay, that's enough praise for today, son." " You've probably seen him on TV." Helen said. " Daddy's on TV a lot. So is mom. They are members of the chipmunks, one of the biggest bands in the world, after all." 'No, I know you from somewhere else. Before you were ever on TV. You look different, but I could swear your Cash Ikebana." " I am." " But, your name's Seville, isn't it?" Tina asked. " Yes." " Then how could mom know you as Cash Ikebana?" " Because, when I met her, it was Ikebana. Um, Melissa, right?" " Glad you remembered my name, Cash.' " Well, you and your dad did take me in for a week all those years ago." " Huh?" Katrina asked. " Remember how I told you how I had a bike I was using to get to my brothers all those years ago?" " Yeah. It got damaged to the point where you couldn't use it, right?" " Yup. And, all that damage got done to it when I helped Melissa here and her dad. Her dad owned a local bike store, and it was being harassed by a bunch of thugs."_

_New munks_

_New video editor_

_Cash proceeded to tell the story. " And then I left." " I tried to get you to wait until dad finished your bike." " I had to get moving." " Yeah, I guess you did. I missed you, but it all worked out huh?" " Yeah." " Hey, I got an idea." Tom, who had been talking, somewhat, with Tina this whole time. " Why don't we go and see Tina's sister in person? We have time don't we, dad?' " I suppose so." ' Alright, let's go." As everyone thought, Kim was ecstatic to see Cash and Katrina walk in. " You mean that you knew Cash when you where kids, mom?" ' Yup. Speaking of that, Hey, Cash?" " Yes, Melissa?" " I still have your old bike put up in the back of the shop. It's fully repaired. You can have it back now." ' Thanks. Hey, Tom?" " Yeah, dad?" " Didn't you bust your old bike, racing down that hill?" " Though I told you not to?" Katrina added. " How many times do I have to say I'm sorry?" " It was an expensive bike, honey." " How about this?" Cash asked. " We go get my old bike and give it to Tom. That way, Tom has a bike to get around on, and Katrina, you'll be happy because we won't have to go and buy another one. So family, do we all have a deal?" " Deal." Katrina said. " Eh, deal, but it better look nice. I don't want to riding with Roxy and look like an idiot." " You won't, trust me. It was, and most likely still is, a bike to be proud of." " Well, let's go and get it. We'll be back later, honey." Melissa said. " Okay, mom." A few minutes later. ' Whoa! You weren't kidding, dad. This bike rules! It's all black, with awesome looking dragons on it. This'll make me look good when I ride it, no doubt about it." " I'm glad you like it, son. You did a great job restoring it, Melissa." " Well, I can't take all the credit. My dad did most of the work. I just repainted the dragons." " Wow, you've got an amazing eye for detail, Melissa. You even got down to their scales, and those were all custom hand painted from the factory it was built at." " Eh, what can I say? It's a gift." " Wait a second. Agito not only spent the money to buy you a bike, but spent enough to get a custom painted one?" Katrina asked. " yeah." " And you left it here?" " I was about staying until it was fixed, but, I had a dream where Agito told me to go on with out it." " Well, so long s it was okay with him." " Yeah. And besides, it's back in the family now." " Yeah." The group spent the next hour and a half, with out even realizing it, talking and catching up. " Well, we'd better hit the road and you should get back to Kim." Cash said. " yeah, I guess so." " I really enjoyed talking to you, Melissa. I wish we could see you more often." Katrina said. " oh, you will?" " Huh?" " See, Kim has a condition. It can be cured, but the treatments she needs in order to be cured, are only done at this one hospital in Hollywood. I think the names of the doctors in charge are Kenneth Samson and Roberta Lockhart.' " O well, that's perfect then." " Huh?" " We know both of them. We've know Doctor Samson for a long time. He's treated each and everyone of us over the course of these past fourteen years and he's our kids pediatrician." " and how do you know Doctor Lockhart?" " She's the doctor who first told me and my sisters, the other chipettes slash Mrs. Seville's, that we were pregnant with our firstborns. She even delivered Tony, My sister Jeanette's son." " Hey, Simon helped. It takes two to make a baby, honey." Cash joked. " I know honey. I'm not taking credit away from your brother." "Ha-ha, anyways, they do good work. Kim's in good hands. So, when are you moving?' " Around Thursday of this coming week." " Prefect, you can come to my daughter Helen's birthday party." " I'd love too. But, I won't have the to buy a present. Matter of fact, with my uncle taking over the shop once I'm gone, I'll need a new job.' "well, what can you do?" Cash asked. " Besides repair bicycles?" " yeah.' " Well, I'm pretty good with a camera, both regular and video, and I'm good at giving directions." " And you have that keen eye for detail I was talking about earlier." ' Yeah, I guess." " Hmmm, Alright. Melissa, how'd you like to wok for our label?" " What?" " I said, how would you like to work for our label?" " He's asking if you want to work for chipmunk records mom." Tina said. " I, I'd love to!" " Good. You can be our new music video director. Trust me, the pay is really good. I'm sure that, with proper money management, you'll have the money you need for your daughter's treatments and quite a bit left over. All I have to do now is call up Todd. He's our general manager. We get his okay, and your set." " Thank you, Cash!" " thank you, thank you, thank you!" Tina added. " Do you think Todd will mind us bringing in another person out of the blue like this?" Katrina asked. ' I think Todd likes it. This way he doesn't have to go looking for these people. We do part of his job for him. And besides, our old video director is retiring at the end of the week." " Oh yeah. I forgot about that. Hey, isn't he the brother of our old lead accountant? The one who Jerry took over for?" " Sure is. He joined the record that became our label some thirty years ago. One week after his brother did." " I see. Well, if he's retiring, we should get his replacement ready as soon as possible." " yup. So, just hang on a second." Cash pulled out his phone, called up his address book, and hit send on Todd's number. " Hey, Todd. It's Cash. Yeah, I'm having a good day off. Anyways, You know how our video director is retiring at the end of the week? Well, I have his replacement." Cash proceeded to tell Todd how confident he was in Melissa and Todd told him exactly what he wanted to hear. " Okay, I'll let her know. Yeah, see you Monday for the recording secession. Okay, cool. Bye." " Well?" Melissa asked. " Todd said to tell you 'welcome to chipmunk records.' You start work a week from this coming Monday. So, the Monday after this coming Monday." " Oh, thank you, Cash!" ' Hey, you guys took me in and treated me like family for the week I was here. It's the least I can do." " But, still, thank you. Thank you so much." ' No problem, really. Let us know when you get to your new house and we'll all come over to help you get settled in and then throw you a house warming party." " That would be nice. Oh, Kim's going to be so happy." " Glad we could make all of yours day.' Katrina said. ' But we better get moving, right Cash?" " Yeah. We'll see you this Thursday?" " Of course. And I'll be sure to be at your daughter's birthday party." " Sounds great. Alright, we better get going. See you Thursday." ' Come on, mom! We got to go tell Kimberly the good news!" " Oh yeah, and we have to call your father too!" " Yeah. Now dad can actually enjoy the house, instead of just working out of it. Let's go tell them now!" " Right! Excuse us!" " That was a good thing you just did, honey." " Hey, I owed her." " But was still a good deed." " I guess so.' " Ha-ha, that's my daddy." ' Alright little ones. Back into the car. We've still got a little ways to go. And we have church tomorrow too. We'd better get moving, now." " Right." " Hey, Tom!" " Yeah, dad?" " Help me get your new bike in the car." " oh, right!" ' So, you really like this?" " I love it, dad. Roxy's gonna love it too. Hey, doesn't the seat look like it's big enough for two?" Tom asked. Cash fought not to laugh. ' Just don't make her ride with you like if she doesn't want to." " I won't." " Alright. Let's get this puppy in the car and get out of here.. Before anymore crowds like before show up."_


	122. Chapter 122

New munks

King's Game

" Well, now what do we do?" Nikki asked. With today being Monday, the Chipmunks were in the recording studio. Yesterday, they had witnessed Zak take the first steps to becoming a Christian. Though they were supposed to have their heads bowed and their eyes closed, with no one looking around but the minister giving the alter call, the guys kept their eyes half opened and watched Zak out of the corners of their eyes. When the minister had said " is there one here today? Just raise your hand and say by that ' I want you to pray for me'. it won't save you, but it'll surely put you on the right path.' They watched as Zak's hand was the first one up. There were two others, but they were visitors and, despite wanting as many kinds of people as possible to enter into the promised land, they didn't particularly interest the Seville family. These people had been there before and they had talked to them then. They weren't agnostic like Zak, just 'lost', as the minister put it. They were sure to see them next Sunday, and what everyone hoped for would happen then. They were positive it would. But, Zak worried them. But, those fears went out the window when they saw his hand go up first and then heard, from Zak himself, " See you next Sunday.' So, now they could focus on the task at hand. Harry and Charlene were doing their jobs usual, as was Jerry, Jason and Heather. With Xavier, Vinny and Kelly all busy, this left all twelve chipmunk children, Cash and Debbie with nothing to do, but sit around the label and occasionally pester Andy. "I don't know." Eliza said. 'I got it!" Tom shouted. " What?" Roxy asked. "The King's Game!" Tom replied. "Oh no, Tom. Not that." Tony said. " I don't wanna hear it, Tony. I wanna play the king's game and nobody's gonna stop me. Nell!" "Yeah?' " Let's go get the chopsticks ready, little sis." "Okay, big bro." The brother and sister then headed for the kitchen area. " Um, what's the king's game?" Zack asked. "It's something Tom picked up in Japan about a year ago. See, our parents had a concert tour in Japan last year. It had a weird schedule. We landed in Tokyo, only to drive out to Kyoto for a show, then drove over night to Nagasaki for another. Then, we drove back to Tokyo, in order to cross over into Hiroshima. After that show, we drove back to Tokyo one last time and had a show there. The last night we were there, we stayed with Uncle Cash's cousin Kimiko, and while they thought we were asleep, we overheard them play this game." " Okay. So, how do you play this game?" Roxy asked. ' Your serious about playing this? It can get really embarrassing." " He's just saying that because the first time we played this, I dared him to kiss Olivia." Eliza said. " What? Really?" " yeah.." Tony said, lowering his eyes. " Was it.. On the lips?" " No!" Tony yelled. " Sorry, Nikki. I guess, technically, I was his first kiss." Olivia kidded. " It wasn't nothing like that, Nikki! It was on the cheek. I just did something quick to keep Eliza happy. She was king.." "Queen!" Eliza yelled. ' Right, queen. Anyways, she was drunk with the power at the time and told me to do the wildest thing she could think of.." " You got out of a kiss on the lips on account of a technicality." Eliza said. " I told you then, and I'll tell you now. You told me to kiss Libby, you never said where." " Whatever." " Phew, I see. I was hoping I was his real first." Nikki said. ' Don't worry, you were. Your the only girl he's ever kissed that way." " Okay. So, uh, how do play this game again?" " Well, you get a bunch of chopsticks, like Nell and Tom are doing right now. Then, you paint one with a red mark. On the others, you put numbers. One through how many other players there might be." Olivia explained. 'Okay. Then what?" " Well, everyone draws a stick. Once everyone has one, we check to see who's got what stick. Whoever has the stick with the red mark is the king, or in the girls case, queen, for that round. Then, the person who's king picks a number and has the person with that number do whatever they want them to.' " So, it's kind of like truth or dare?" Holly asked. " Kind of. From what I understand, players mostly dish out dares, but you can ask people to tell truths too." " I see." ' What kind of things can you ask people to do?" Rex asked. " That's the spirit, Rex. Everybody get into it!" Eliza said. " Well, like you heard, you can make a person kiss one of the other players, no matter who they might be to that person. But, if I remember right, the really wild stuff doesn't usually start until later in the game. It's starts with simple things. Like, say Tony is king in the first round. And, let's say he tells number, um, two to go get him a drink. Now, let's say Holly is number two. So, she has to go get Tony something to drink. Once she does, round one's over and we start round two, where draw sticks again, to decide a new king. Now, here's where a certain stipulation steps in. The rules say that, each king's command has to be more extreme than the command of the king before him. So, let's say, Ben was the next king. He'd have to up the ante after Tony's simple command. Now, how much he ups it is up to him. He could get a little more extreme, or a whole lot more extreme. But, since it plays to Ben's character, let's say he only ups it a little and tells, hmm, me, to, uh, hug someone. Then he picks who I have to hug, and he picks, um, Roxy. So, I'd have to hug Roxy. After that, the next king could up it even more and then we could get into the kissing phase. And that part could start with a hand kiss, then move to the cheek, and then on to the lips. After that, who knows? Heh-heh, somebody could be getting their first kiss tongue today." " Don't sound so excited Eliza. Remember, you have to play by the rules too." Tony said. ' Yeah, I know. So?" " Well, if we really do get to kissing with tongue, whoever's king could tell you to French kiss somebody you don't to. Like another girl." " 'gasp' Oh my God, your right! Y-you wouldn't dare me to do that, would you Tony? I mean, I've always been nice to you." "Maybe.... Nah. I know who you want to kiss. I'd pick Rex for you." "Oh thank God. Man, don't kid me like that! I'm still recovering from the sleepover incident, thank you very much Cash." " Hey, your the one who captured me, held me down and put make up all over my face. Do you know how hard it is to get that crap off once it's dried on?! You deserved what I did." "What'd you do, Cash?" Debbie asked. " I made her believe that I was going to set all her clothes on fire." "Ha-ha! That's a good one! You really know how to hit her where it hurts." "Baby, you have no idea. I once made Tom believe that his mom gave all of the stuff in his room away to needy children." "Why?" "Because he broke my favorite video game." "Hey, I was there when that happened. Tom apologized and even bought you a new one. What you did wasn't fair, Cash." Olivia said. 'Hey, I apologized for that. I bought him a brand new game too, to make up for it. Don't think I don't realize when I cross the line, Libby." " So, Cash makes people who do wrong, at least by him, pay and thoroughly apologizes when he's gone too far. I could get to like this guy." Debbie thought. " Alright, everybody, cowboy up, cause it's time for the king's game!" Tom returned. " I made an extra stick, in case you wanted to play Andy." Helen said. "Well, now I can't say no, can I?" " A moment later. "Hmm, so I'm the first king." Jake said. "Here we go." Tony sighed.

New munks

The reason they named him Edge

The next day found Tom walking Edge. He was walking him with Roxy, who had come over to spend some time with him, not including the king's game yesterday. ' Hey, Roxy, watch this. Edge!" Edge stopped and faced his owner. "Stand up." Edge stood on his hind legs. "Now walk like a person." Edge took a few steps. " Good dog." Tom said, feeding edge a treat as a reward. ' Amazing." Roxy said. ' I taught him that, by the way." "Really? That's cool. Think you could teach our lazy bulldog some tricks?" " Your dog Spike? No, sorry, I don't think I can." "It's alright. I wasn't expecting you to say yes. I don't think anyone can train that dog." "Well, Bulldogs are supposed to be hard to train." "Yeah, but I think Spike is a special case, even for bulldogs. This one time, I had to give him a steak, a whole steak, like in the cartoons, just to get him to roll over a few times. That's why I like Edge here. He does tricks. I know Spike is more for our own protection, but, since nobody has tried to break into our or anything, he just lays there. I wish he would do something. Play dead, roll over, speak, shake, do something. Well, I guess he does have a few uses. Holly likes to use him for giant pillow, and lay out in the sun from time to time. And he doesn't mind a bit." "I don't think Edge is big enough for that." " Yeah, but I think he's big for his breed. What's he supposed to be again?" "He's a Pekingese." "I didn't know they could get that big. He's about as big as an average beagle, and normally, beagles dwarf Pekingese." "Part of it may be because we all spoil him. Mom says we shouldn't give him any human food, but we all do anyway when we think nobody's looking. Matter of fact, the last time I saw mom alone with Edge, she was giving him all the left over sausage from our breakfast." "Yeah, people do things like hat when they think nobody's looking. So, what other tricks does he know?" "He does them all. Sit, stay, speak, shake, roll over play dead. Anything you can think of, he can do." "How good is he at fetch?" "That depends." " Huh?" " He loves playing it, but a lot of times, if you use a stick, he'll lose the stick, so he'll bring back one that kind of looks like the first stick." " Aw, that's cute. At least he tries, right?" " Yeah. Not to mention, he Edge is brave dog. One time, a burglar snuck into our house while Mom and Dad were out. So I had to deal with him. I fought him to the point where he wanted to kill me. After a while, he had me pinned down and asked ' any last words, punk?' And I looked up, and I saw Edge flashing his teeth, snarling and looking ready to go. Just waiting for the word. So I told the guy ' Yeah.' And he asked ' what are they?" I looked him right in the eye and said ' Sic'em boy!' Poor guy didn't even see it coming. I tell you, that attack was so vicious, I told mom and dad not to call the cops. That's how much damage Edge did to the guy. Nothing the cops could've done would have equaled Edge's attack." "Wow. You wouldn't know it by looking at him." "Yeah, normally, Edge is pretty laid back dog. But hurt one of the four of us, and he snaps. He's beyond loyal. And, he loves hanging out with me, and he's gotten even closer to Nell, now that Tara's gone. Maybe it's pity, or maybe he just didn't think she needed him, cause she had Tara. But now, if he's not with me, he's with Nell." "I see. Uh, hey, can I ask you a question?" 'Sure.' "why did you name him Edge?" Well, when he was a puppy and before we ad a name for him, he liked to sit right on the edge of the table. We were always afraid he was gonna fall off. So, we yelled " Get off that edge!' After a few times, we decided to just call him that."


	123. Chapter 123

New munks

Trisha

" So Andy, any idea where we're going today?" Cash asked. Today, Vinny had asked Cash and Andy to accompany her while she took care of some business. Cash was trying to figure out why he was asked to put on his best suit to out with his mom. " We're going to a showing, from what I hear." "A showing? Mom, who died?" " " A friend of Xavier's. Her name was Trisha Carmichael. She was a good friend of Xavier, and she was his secretary. Xavier's already at the funeral home, paying his respects and we're meeting him there." " Oh, I see. But, uh, why do you need me and Andy?" " Cash, did you have anything better to do today?" Andy asked. " Well, no. I'm just curious is all." " I knew Trisha very well, Cash. She was a friend of mine as well. Se, I don't just hang around the house all day. I do have a few friends outside of the family." " I never said you didn't." " Oh, right. Sorry. It's just, she was so good to me. I'm not sure how much older she as than me but, she was definitely my senior. So, she treated me like she would her junior. Always baking me cookies and such and, no offense to Eleanor, hers are amazing too, but, Trisha's cookies were some of the best I've ever eaten. She treated me much like one of her own children, just like Xavier." " So, in a way, your paying your respects to your surrogate mother." " Exactly. You know that I never knew my parents. So, Xavier and Trisha were all I ever had." " Vinny never knew her parents?" Andy asked. " Nope. We have no idea whatever happened to Grandma and Grandpa, and we probably never will." " I see. I guess that's why Vinny does her best to always be around for you and brothers." ' Exactly. She wants us to have a relationship with her, where she didn't with her mom and dad." " I see. But, Um, I still don't get why you need me and Cash, Vinny." " Emotional support Andy." " Ah I see." " In all honesty, was planning on asking you to come with me anyway, Andy." " So, what do you need me for/" Cash asked. " Do you remember the last time I went to the showing or funeral of somebody close to me, dear?" " Oh, yeah. It was all the guys and I could do to keep you from collapsing. We had to literally hold you up, you were crying so hard. Yeah, now it makes sense. The others are busy with the editing and stuff at the label, but they didn't need me. Strange how they lost everybody's vocal tracks except mine. But, I get it. You knew they were busy, but I was available and so was Andy.' " Right." " Well, no worries then. We'll do our best to support you, vinny." " Thank you both." Ring. " Hold on a second. Hello? Oh, hey bro. What? How did you find out?.. Oh, James called and told you? Said he thought you might wanna go to support mom and Xavier? Ah, okay. Why did she only invite us? Well, because we were only ones not busy. Yeah, I know we've told time and again that we have no problems with dropping what we're doing when she needs us. I don't know, ask her yourself after the showing. What? Well, I don't see why not. Yeah, okay I'll ask her. Mom?" " yes, dear." Now starting to tear up a bit, because they were nearing the funeral home. " It's Alvin. He wants to know if you, or Xavier, or Trisha's family would mind him and the others coming?" " I know Xavier and I don't. And I don't think Trisha's family would mind either. The more, the better." " Alright, I'll tell him. Al? Yeah, mom said go ahead. Yeah, just run back home and change and I'll meet out front when you get to the funeral home. Yeah, we're pulling up to it right now. The address? Uh, Covington Funeral home, 1398, main street. Okay, I'll see you in a bit. Bye."

New munks

Wake dinner

" Hello, Vinny. Glad you could come." A teary-eyed woman said as the three walked into the room. 'I wouldn't have missed it, Harriet. Your mom meant a lot to me. Oh, this is Andy McNab, my grandchildren's bodyguard who lives with Xavier and I, and I've told you about my son, Cash." " Nice to meet you." Harriet said. " Same here." Cash said. "I just wish that it could have bee under better circumstances." " Me too." " I wish I had brought you to meet her sooner, Cash. And, I'm sorry for dragging you out here, dear." " It's not a problem, mom." " what do you mean, dragging him out here?" Harriet asked. " I called up Cash earlier and, without telling him where we were going, asked him to put on his suit and come with me. I hate to be doing this in front of you, and at a time like this, Harriet, but I feel that I should apologize." " It's not a problem, mom. I was wondering why I needed my suit, but now that I know the reason, I wanna be here." " 'sniff' Thank you, Cash." Harriet said. Cash nodded." Oh, by the way. The rest of our family is on their way. Do you mind all of them coming?" " No. It would have made mom so happy to know just how many people were willing to come to her showing." Cash nodded again. "Well, I see Xavier up by the casket. I'd best go join him." Vinny said. 'Alright." Harriet said. Vinny walked off. " Aren't you going to go with her?" Harriet asked. Cash pushed Andy forward. ' Go with mom." " Huh?" ' I gotta wait for everyone to get here, and mom needs somebody. So, go." " Oh right." Cash hung back and waited. For some reason, he couldn't stop looking at Harriet. He could tell, though she seemed calm, she was really just acting. " Her eyes are really red. I guess she's already cried herself dry." Cash thought. " So, uh, are you, like, the greeter or something?" Cash asked Harriet. " You could say that. See, my sisters over there gave me this 'job'. They always said that I was the biggest cry baby when we were growing up. That when I started crying, for whatever the reason was, I cried myself out right then and there. So, since I'm all tapped out, they're having me do this." 'I see. Um, your having the funeral tomorrow, right?" "Yes. You don't have to come to that if you don't want to. Vinny told me about your phobia, so you don't have to come." "Yeah, I wouldn't want my phobia to kick in and then me not be able to get near the grave, with out fearing I'd fall in. But, that doesn't mean that I can't do something. Look, my sister-in-law, Eleanor, is a really good cook and her sister, my wife Katrina, is a great baker. Their sisters, Brittany and Jeanette, aren't slouches in the kitchen either. If you want, when they get here, I'll ask them if they'd be interested in putting together the wake dinner for you. Our wives can cook, and me and my brothers can go out and get whatever supplies you'd need, and I'm sure that Xavier could find us somewhere to have it. So, what do you say?" " Let me go ask my sisters." A moment later. " They said that they feel like they just don't have it in them to cook, and frankly, neither do I. So, we'd appreciate it if you could pull that off." "Alright, just leave it to me." " Thank you, cash." Once the others arrived, Cash pulled them off to the side and told them what he had volunteered their services for. 'That sounds like a great idea, dear." Katrina said. 'You don't mind that I just volunteered us outta the blue?" " Nah. I was talking about doing it anyways." Eleanor said. "Yeah, and she already had us convinced to do it too." Brittany said. 'Besides that, they need help. This is no time for them to be in the kitchen or running to stores. So, it's best that they've left it up to us." Jeanette said.


	124. Chapter 124

New munks

Lightening the mood

" Brittany, do you have the greens?" " Right here, Ely." ' Great. Kate, how are we looking on mashed potatoes?" " All three different kinds are ready to go, sis."" Great. Jeanette, have they left yet?" " Yeah. Mom just called, they're on their way." " O Boy, where are the guys?" " Miss us?" Cash asked, walking in with a large box. " Thank God. Was the chicken ready?" 'Yup." " Fantastic. Set it down over here. Is that all?" " are you kidding? That's just box one of three. Alvin and Simon are brining in the other two." 'Okay. Where's Theodore?" ' Getting the cheesecake." " New York style?" "As far as I know." ' Good, good. Okay. Now, you and Jeanette go chop vegetables. And, Britt, you help Kate set the immediate family's table." " Yes, ma'am." " Aren't you glad we left Eleanor in charge?" Katrina asked her sister. ' Yeah. She barks orders like nobody's business and can get a little pushy, but hey, under her watch, everything gets done. If nothing else, she's efficient." "She sure is. And, yeah, I agree that she can sound a bit bossy and what not, but hey, she hardly ever gets the spotlight, so when she was does, she takes advantage of it." "Yeah, and, everybody deserves the spot light to be them and them alone, every once in a while. And besides, I don't think anybody else would be suited for that job." "Yeah your right. Managing all of this? I don't think I could do it." ' Me neither. I'll cook, I'll help set up, but leave keeping track of everyone and everything to someone else. I'd like to keep my red colored mane where it is." " Instead of in your fists from tearing it out right?" "Yup. Let Eleanor go gray haired over it." " Now that's kind of selfish, isn't it?" "Hey, I'll do it if I have to. I'll take the gray hair inducing job if necessary. But, if somebody else wants to do it, far be it for me to stand in their way." "Whatever. But I can see your point. I'd rather do this too." "So, your just a pot calling the kettle black, huh?" " No. I've had to do what she's doing right now, and I've had to do this. Part of it may be because I don't like that other position, but mostly it's because I feel more, how do I put it, fulfilled, when I'm doing this. I mean, when I do this, I feel like I'm having a direct impact on the situation. For this, I feel like I'm directly helping this family deal with their loss. And, I like this feeling. When I'm the one barking orders, I don't feel like I'm having as much of an impact. I mean, I know every job here is important to the our mission of helping these people cope but, I just prefer the hands on experience. You know what I mean?" " Oh yeah, and I agree. Being direct like this makes me feel good about myself, because I know, even if it's in some small, almost insignificant way, I've still helped somebody today. And that feeling helps me get to sleep at night. But, Ely's different. I think she gets that feeling more from doing what she's doing right now, than doing what we're doing." "Well, she did cook a lot of this food, so, I'd say that she's already felt what we're just starting to. And so, she's moved on." "Hmm, maybe, but, I still wouldn't trade places with her." " Honestly, me neither." " I knew it." " Yeah, but, keep it to yourself." " I will." " Ow!" " Was that Jeanette?" Katrina asked. " Yeah. She was cutting vegetables with Cash down stairs, right? What do you want to bet that she cut herself?" "Where are the band aids?! Oh, never mind, I found them." Cash called. " Nothing." Katrina replied. "Yeah, good call. Hmm, I wonder how chipmunk blood tastes on top of cucumbers." Brittany said. "Not funny, Brittany." "I'm just trying to lighten the mood, sis." " Well, now's not the time." "Fine, whatever."

New munks

In the event

" Oh, they're here already. Quick, everybody finish what your doing." Eleanor said. "Man, that had to be one fast funeral." Katrina said. ' Well it started at two, and it's three thirty now." Simon said, after he overheard her. " And the graveyard isn't too far away either." Alvin added. Eleanor went out to greet everyone. They were having the dinner the headquarters of Xavier's company. They had converted the cafeteria of the headquarters into a respectable buffet. This had only been achieved by following Eleanor and, to some lesser extent, Katrina's commands. "Welcome everyone. Just as soon as the reverend blesses the food, you can grab yourselves a plate and take whatever you like. Reverend?" " Right." The minister said the blessings and the Carmichael family began to form a buffet line. The Seville family waited for the actual mourning family to finish their first pass around the table. "Man, talk about your rush jobs.' Brittany said. "Yeah. We had to use everyone in order to pull this off in time. Even the kids." Eleanor said. The kids had done whatever was needed. From carrying around containers of food, to setting tables, to just generally cleaning the place up a bit, they had been quite influential. " Mom, I'm hungry." Eliza said. " I know honey. But, just be polite and let Mrs. Carmichael's family go first. Once they all sit down, we'll go get our food, okay?" " Okay. I just hope that Aunt Eleanor's cookies are still up there when it's our turn." "Hey, what about mine? I made some cookies too." "But, I always get to eat yours mom." " Well, you got a point there." " Hey, Eleanor!" "Oh, Theodore. What took so long? Your late." " Sorry, honey, but traffic was a royal pain. But, in spite of that, I got what you asked." "Man, Those people at that bakery don't mess around. When they advertised that they made a 'giant cheesecake', they weren't kidding. This thing's got to be a foot long, and half a foot wide. Right, Simon?" Alvin asked. " Easily. That's the biggest cheesecake I've ever seen." ' Those people at the bakery must be from Texas." Cash said. ' Huh?" Alvin asked. " You know. They say they do everything big in Texas." " Oh, yeah. Yup, this cheesecake would fit right in over there, huh?" "Sure would." " Okay, let me clear a space for it and then you set it down on the desert table, dear.' Eleanor said. " Okay." Andy, Xavier and Vinny came over. "Hey, guys. Uh, how was the service?" Cash asked. " It was nice, Cash. Very dignified. A fitting send off for a great woman like Trisha." Xavier said. "Good, good." "You guys can get yourselves something to eat. You were part of the funeral after all. We're waiting for them to go through once before we get anything, but you don't have to.' Alvin said. "No, if your going to wait , so will we ." Xavier said. "Suit yourself." Andy was looking at a pamphlet. "What's that Andy?" Katrina asked. 'A pamphlet they had at Trisha's funeral. It's got a really nice poem in it. Here, read it." " Okay.' Katrina read the poem along with Cash. " Yeah, that's nice alright, Andy." Cash said. " Yeah, I thought so too. So, I've decided something." "What?" "In the event of my death, I want you to read this at my funeral, Cash." 'What?" "Well, I was just thinking about how dangerous this group is. So, incase I die before you, probably killed by the group, I want you to read this. Any of you will do, but, I think Cash has the best voice for it." "You think so?" Alvin asked. " Cash, read it out loud." " Okay." "And Cash did just that. " Okay, your right. Cash is the best choice." "So, will you read it at my funeral, Cash?" Andy asked. " Well, I hope i won't have to, but if it happens, I'll do it." "Thank you."


	125. Chapter 125

_New Munks_

_British Solider_

" _Okay, kids. You be good, listen to Andy and we'll see you in a few hours." Cash said. " Okay, dad." Tom returned. Today was Monday. Last week had came and went. The wake dinner for Trisha was a complete success and when Thursday came, the house warming party for Melissa was also a success. Now, it was time to put Melissa to the test, by having her direct her first music video. Dave thought it was asking a bit much of Melissa, since it was her first day, but she had said that she wanted to do it. So, of course, Dave was willing to let her try. ' You going to be cool watching them, Andy?" Cash asked. Andy was listening to his head phones. " Andy." Cash said. Alvin grabbed Andy's head phones and yanked them off his head. ' What the?" Andy asked. " Cash was talking to you." Alvin explained. " Oh, sorry, Cash. I just really like that song." Alvin took a listen. ' What's it called?" he asked. "The British Soldier, by Harvey Andrews." " Oh, yeah. I've heard some of his stuff. He's pretty good." "Yeah, I think so too. Anyway, what were you saying, Cash?" " I asked you if your cool with watching all of them for so long?" "I'm sure I can manage. Now, I think it'd be best if you were all on time. I'll bet Melissa is nervous, and you being late won't help." "Right. See ya, guys." "Okay, so, what should we do today, gang?" Andy asked. "How about we go somewhere?" Olivia asked. "Yeah, like we always do." Eliza said sarcastically." Well, where does everyone want to go?" Andy asked. " Well, there's an exhibit at the museum that Helen and I have been trying to get our parents to take us to for a while. Could we go see it, Andy?" Tony asked. " Please?" Helen asked. " Well, what do you all think?" Andy asked the others. "Eh, whatever." Tom said. " Eliza? Olivia?" "Well, if they've been waiting. But we're going shopping after we're done there." Eliza said. Tom shook his head. ' Typical." He said. " She's aunt Brittany's daughter alright." Tony agreed. Eliza glared hatefully at her cousins. " Okay, well that's two. Ben, Olivia?" Andy asked. " Sure. But, we want something to eat afterwards." Olivia said. Ben nodded. " Well alright. How's this? We'll go to this exhibit, then we'll go eat. I know a place that I've been thinking about taking you guys to anyways. And then, once we're done stuffing our faces, we'll go shopping, like Eliza wanted. If your parents still aren't done by then, then we'll just have to think of something else to do. Sound good?" The kids nodded. " Alright. Let's go." They loaded into Andy's car, which Xavier had gave him after he had taken this job, and took off. Xavier had said that he had a feeling that Andy would be busing the kids around quite often, so he got him the biggest car he could find. " So, what's this exhibit about, Tony?" tom asked. "Believe it or not, the history of war." " The history of war.?' 'Yeah. They're showcasing the history, and more importantly, the weapons and equipment, of all the biggest battles throughout history. Even some from Japan."" What? Really? Cool. But, uh, why do you want to go see this?" " honestly? To hopefully take away something that'll help me be better in a fight. Just something you know?" "Yeah. I get ya. What about you sis?" "I heard Japanese battles and said ' sold'." " Just like her big brother." Eliza said. " So what? Siblings are supposed to be alike. I mean, look at Ben and Olivia. They're practically twins." Tom said. "I guess. But, you don't have to like everything Tom likes, you know, Nell." "I don't like it because he does. I like it on my own." "You tell her sis." " Huh, Sis. I wonder what it feels like to be called that?" Eliza thought._

_New Munks_

_The end is near_

"_Wow, this is pretty cool. I'm glad you suggested this, Tony." Tom said. They were now at the museum. Of course, they were in the Japan section of the exhibit." You enjoying yourself, Nell? Tom asked. "Yup!" " Good." "Hey Ben, I'm gonna run over to the gift shop. You want some candy?" " Yes! God help me but, yes! Um, you won't tell mom, right?" " Of course not. It's on me after all." "Thanks sis." "No problem." " Tom and Nell, Ben and Libby. They're the perfect teams. I've heard that brothers and sisters are the best of friends. I guess that's true. At least for them it is. I wonder how well I'd get along with a little brother or sister? Well, I guess there's only one way to find out but, I'm still not ready. Maybe, if I could just find out how to be a big sister." "Penny for your thoughts, Libby?" Andy asked. She looked up to see Tony and Andy staring at her. ' What? No, thanks." "You were thinking about what it'd be like to have a little brother or sister, huh?" Tony asked. "How did you know that that's what I was thinking?" "I know that look you had, Liz. I've seen it on my own face." "You two still unsure about the sibling thing?" Andy asked. "Well, yeah, I guess." Tony said. ' if I could just get to see what it's like to be a big sister, maybe I could make up my mind." "I see. What about you Tony?" " Well, actually, I'm all for it. I thought about it. If I had a little brother or sister, I could be like Tom with Nell, or Cash with Ginger. They always seem to be so happy when they're hanging out with their sisters, and well, I kinda want that too. Not only that but, I could teach my little sibling so much and then, once he or she was old enough, I could have somebody I could have intelligent conversations with. Somebody closer to my age that is. And lastly, Debbie told me something that really got me thinking. She said ' No matter how lucky or strong they are, one day, your mom and dad are going to be gone, Tony. And then, you'll have nobody who really understands you. Yeah, you'll probably have your cousins and what not but, they couldn't really grasp how hurt you'd be when your parents die. But, a little brother or sister would. And having some, even though they'd be younger and would most likely be leaning on you more than you would be on them, having him or her around would make it easier.' And you, know, she's right. I don't want to go through that alone. So, I want a little brother or sister. So, I told mom and dad and they said, once this whole mess was over, we'd see. Which means, it's going to happen." " Well, good for you, Tony. As for you, Liz, I think you should take up babysitting. Maybe you could get a feel for being a big sister from that." "Maybe but, right now, I don't need money." "I'm just saying." "Okay, I'll think about it." " Hey, Andy!" "Yeah Tom?" "Check this out!' They went to see what Tom was looking at. It was weapons and equipment from the more modern era. " I'll bet that you've used some of this stuff, huh?" "Hmm, I've used this tear gas launcher. It was on my only mission." "You never told us about that." " Well, do you want to hear it?" "Sure." "Well, it was m first and only mission. I had enough time in the corps for one mission. Anyway, we had received information that, for some reason or another, a group of people planned to bomb parliament, exactly when every member of parliament would be there. And, we had heard that they planned to assignation the queen too. Well, that was all we needed to hear. So, a team was sent into where they had their base. I was on point. I launched three rounds of tear gas and switched to this rifle here for suppressive fire. It fired rubber bullets. As soon as the third canister went off and I fired my first round of rubber bullets, the rest of team came in. Long story short, we won and we took all the terrorists to jail." "Wow, cool." "Well, are you guys ready to go to get something to eat, guys?" " Yes!" " Well then, let's go." Meanwhile, two men were monitoring the gang. "Are you ready, Grant?' "Ready when you are, Mike. What's the plan?" "We've been ordered to take Andy down and kidnap the kids. What they want with the kids this time, I don't know, and I don't care. But, we need to take care of Andy before we do anything. So, first, we'll follow them. See where they go. Once they stop, We'll let L take his shot at Andy. If he misses, then you and your men move in." " Got it. Let's get moving." And so they followed the kids tot heir destination, which made Olivia extremely happy. "Mongolian cafe?! Your taking us to Mongolian cafe?!" Olivia said. 'I thought you'd be pleased. Alright, let's go on in." " Okay, Mike. They're going inside. Now's the time. Let L do what he does best." "Right." Mike Libby closed his eyes and, in essence, traded places with Mr. L. " Alright. Understood. Taking the shot." L aimed his gun and fired. However, as with the dart that carried the toxin that had made his mother sick, Andy lucked out again. He had been holding the door open for the kids. The last of the kids had walked in and he had moved out of the way just in time. The dart bounced harmlessly off the wall unnoticed. "Darn it. I missed. Grant, it's your turn." "Okay. But, let's let them eat first. That little girl in green seemed to be really happy to come here. I guess, considering how much those Franklin kids seem to hate the munks, they may just kill the kids. You could call this their last meal. It's only fair to let them enjoy it." "How do you know so much about this, Grant?" "Before I escaped Italy, I spent a lot of time in jail. Just before I escaped, though it damaged my arms and caused me to have to get these prosthetic, almost cybernetic replacements, I was on death row. So, I know all about the last meal. I've eaten my own. Steak, lobster, lasagna and motza ball soup, just because I wanted to try it. That was my supposed last meal. This will most likely be their last meal, so I say we let them eat and then get them on the way out.' "Very well. And, having just eaten, they should be a little slower." "Hey, there you go. I didn't even think of that." Meanwhile. ' Mmm, this is delicious." Eliza said. She was eating some barbequed pork with rice. " Excuse me.' a lady said. She had a little girl with her. " Yes?" Tony asked. " Aren't you the chipmunks kids?" "Yeah, we are." Tom said. "My daughter here loves you guys. She loves you as she does your parents. So..." The lady pushed her daughter foreword. The little girl held up a familiar magazine. It was toddler beat. " Could you sign this?" She asked. "You want our autographs? Man, we don't get asked for that very often. Sure, I'll sign it." Tony said and took the magazine and pen from the girl. " There you go." He said. Tom snatched the book. "Me next." And so they went down the line and signed the book. ' Thank you." The girl said as they walked away. Soon after the kids finished eating and left. They were stopped by Mike. "Mike." Andy said. " Andy, I want you to know that I respect you. So, I know your brave, but not foolish." It was then that they noticed Grant and his men surrounding them. "Just hand over the kids and walk away." " Let me think about that.. No!" Andy then punched Mike in the face and quickly rushed the kids into the car. He hurried them so much that the door was hanging open. However, as they soon found themselves being chased, it got slammed shut by Andy taking a sharp corner. Thinking about how they were probably going to need help, Andy called the munks and told them what was going on. 'I'm going to lead them to the quarry outside of town."_

_New Munks_

_Final showdown_

" _Okay, kids. Get out and hide. I'll take care of them." Andy pulled out his gun. " How long have you had that in here?" Ben asked. ' I always have this with me when I'm guarding you. You never know. Now, go hide." " Andy, they got a small army. Let us help you." Tom said. ' But.." " Andy, we can hold our own. And besides, there's too many of them for just you to handle." " Alright. You can take care of the goons, but Mike and that guy with him are mine. That's probably Grant Morella, and as we know Mike is Mr. L. They're the most dangerous people your parents have ever dealt with. So, you leave them to me. That's the deal, okay?" "Okay." The seven lined up and got ready to fight their enemies. "One last chance, Andy. Give up the kids." Mike said. "Over my dead body." " Fine, have it your way. I feel that I should warn you though. Mr. L and Grant here, are far less lenient than me." " I'll keep that in mind." Mike shook his head. " Very well. But remember, you brought this on yourself." Mike changed personalities again. "You should have listened to him, Andy. I won't go easy on you like he did." "Yeah, and neither will i. I got no qualms with killing you if you stay in our way." Grant said. "You think you can kill me? Well then, bring it on." The fight began. Despite Grant's mechanical muscle, and L's skill, Andy held his own. Grant noticed that the kids were also making quick work of the goons. He knew that this was going down hill quickly, and it wasn't going to get any better. That's when Tom kicked him in the face. ' I know what Andy said, but i feel like kickin' your ass!" "You little shit!" Despite his best efforts, Grant was unable to score a decent hit on Tom. He, like his father before him, was too quick and Grant was growing angrier by the second. That's when he heard a noise. It sounded like something made of metal sliding across the ground. Grant looked down and saw Andy's gun. Apparently, L had knocked it out of Andy's hand in their struggle, and Andy was too wrapped up in getting his shots in on L for what he did to his mother to really notice. Grant knew that, despite being a lower caliber than the hand guns he was used to, the gun's bullets would pierce through Tom and his cousins as easily as any other gun's bullets would. " One shot each, that should do it." He thought as he picked up the gun and aimed it at Tom. Tom, remembering the last time he had been held up by a gun, that being all the way back with their first encounter with Claus and Claudia, froze up. " End of the line kid." Grant said. Andy heard him and jumped towards Tom as Grant pulled the trigger. The shot out and struck Andy square in the chest. "Andy!" The other kids shouted. They finished off the group soldier they were dealing with and rushed to his side. "Well, that was stupid. All he did was make me waste a bullet." By this time, L rejoined Grant and the kids stared them down. Grant and L, now seriously focusing on hurting the kids, began to fight them. By the time they were done, the kids ere laying prone. L was speaking to Leon on his cell phone. "Grant." "Yeah?" "Mr. Franklin said to finish them off." " Very well." " No!" This yell came from Andy who, despite the fact that he was losing a tremendous amount of blood, had gotten up and charged the men. He knocked them both over the railing and into the quarry below. The kids got up and dashed down into the quarry. The sight was more than they could bare. Grant lay with his at an odd angle. Clearly it was broken and he was most likely dead. But, what really horrified the kids was the fact that Andy lay there, not moving and not breathing._


	126. Chapter 126

New munks

Aftermath

" We're here, Cash! Right, we'll take care of it. You just hurry up!" Xavier said on his cell phone as he and Vinny arrived at the quarry. They had been closer and Cash had called and asked them to go help out until they got there. "Xavier, look!" "What's going on down there?" "I don't know, but we better hurry." " Right!" While the grandparents hurried down the steep hill as fast s they could, the kids stood in shock. The emotional stress was pushing them to the point where they would change into the dark munks like their parents. They just needed one last push. And they got it when Mr. L got up. " Ow, God damn!" he shouted. He got up, clutching his ribs in pain. Unlike Grant, who had landed on his head and broken his neck, L had landed on his ribs. However, it seemed that he had, for some reason, reverted to Mike Libby upon impact. Mike took in the scene. 'Oh, God." he muttered when he looked at Andy. "Damn you L." he said, knowing his other personality was in someway responsible for this. It was then that he heard growls coming from behind him. He looked and there stood the kids, transformed. They had been pushed over the edge after seeing that he was alive while Andy was dead. They were mad that this man, that they regarded as evil, had survived the fall, where as the man they regarded as good, that being Andy, had died. For a moment, they wanted to even up the score and their darker selves were more than willing to help them get what they wanted. In that instance, the dark sides of the new munks took over and were unleashed. " Oh shit!" He managed to say before the kids lunged at him. He took off into the wooded area at the back of the quarry as quickly as his injured body would carry him, and the kids were not far behind. Vinny was first the down the hill and arrived just in time to see two key things. One was Mike's face, which she of course recognized from years ago, and the other was the state of the kids. " Oh, no." She heard Xavier say behind her. It was then that she noticed Andy's body. "Andy.' She muttered. " Is he?" ' Yeah. I think so, unfortunately." Xavier answered. Vinny was torn between staying with Xavier and keeping watch over Andy's corpse, or going after her grandchildren. She hoped that she could get Xavier to come with her. " Xavier, the kids..." " Damn those group bastards. Their leaders probably ordered this." " Xavier, I think we should..." "Dear God, how do we explain this to Patty?' Vinny came to the conclusion that Xavier was too stunned by Andy's death to listen to her. So, she took off after the kids. She knew that the kids alone in the woods with Mr. L was a very bad situation. She didn't want to think about what could possibly happen when the kids caught up to L. She figured either the kids would attack him and do something horrible, that they would regret once they returned to normal, to him or he would attack them first, and something equally bad would happen. She didn't want to imagine how either scenario would go down. So, she ran as fast as her legs would carry her. It was then that Xavier took notice. "What? Vinny!" 'Stay there until the others get here!" "But, what are you doing?!" "I'm going after the kids!" And so, Xavier waited. When the munks arrived, the chipettes collapsed in tears over Andy dying. When they had told him that he was family to them, they meant it and they always cried uncontrollably when a close family member died. The four chipmunks tried to console their wives, but couldn't help but think about Patty. When they imagined how they thought she would react, they vowed to themselves" I'm gonna kill those bastards."

New Munks

Vinny's lullaby

Meanwhile, Vinny was wandering around in the woods. She knew that this quarry had been closed down and was undergoing what the media referred to as 'revitalization'. That meant that trees were being planted for the sake of turning the now vacant and useless quarry into a respectable forest. Then, they would let nature take it's course and let animals come on their own. The committee behind this effort had no idea that anything like this was ever going to happen here. But, all that did not concern Vinny at the moment. She was used to forests after all. Natural or man made, it made no difference to her. A forest was just a forest to Vinny. But, what did bother her was the fact that her grandchildren were in here. Right now, they were just wild animals, she knew that. She knew that, munks in that state, would be running on primal instinct. So, they'd most likely know how to handle a forest. However, two things about the change worried her. First and foremost, they were in here with the man who had scared her greatly. Secondly, the change had never shown signs of being permanent. She was almost sure that, eventually, the kids would return to normal and then would be lost and confused. They never could find their way out of a forest without help. In any case, the thought of them alone in this forest scared her. And, there was always the possibility of some dangerous wild animal showing up. This thought made her hurry to find the kids even more. "Kids! It's Grandma! Where are you?!" She heard a noise This time she was sure. And not only that, it was six distinct noises. Six different sounding growls. " That must be them." She walked over to where she heard the kids and, sure enough, there they were. They were still wild, and appeared to be looking for something. Vinny figured that they had lost Mike and that's why they were looking around. She noticed something that concerned her. They were all panting. She knew that a wild state chipmunk became tired from exercise less easily, so she didn't think that it could have been from chasing Mike. The another thought came to her. Maybe the change was too much for their young bodies. Their fathers still had trouble with the draining effect of the change. But, that drained feeling only set in after they reverted to normal. She thought that maybe either the change was too much for them, or draining effect had set in, but they were still mad enough to remain in wild form and that was draining them faster. Either way, she knew she had to calm them. 'Kids?' They all whipped around and looked at her. "It's me, Grandma. You know me, right?" They made no attempt to attack her. Obviously, they recognized her. " I can see your tired. Come on, babies, it's time to rest." She closed her arms around the six and began to sing her famous lullaby. It had always put them to sleep before, so, why not now? "Hush your thoughts little ones. Close your eyes little ones. Dream time is near, you needn't fear. And when you wake, I will be here. Rest your heads little ones. Dream sweet dreams little ones. The stars say goodnight. I say sleep tight. And when you wake, I will be here." Just like she wanted, the kids fell asleep and returned to normal. "Rest easy, my darlings. I won't let you out of my sight. No matter what, Grandma will protect you. But, I'm suddenly tired too. Tom, watch over us all while I rest my eyes for a bit." She could hear his voice on the wind say ' no problem' "Thank you." And then, she was out, sleeping with her arms still protectively wrapped around her grandchildren.


	127. Chapter 127

_New Munks_

_Next of Kin_

_Vinny was awakened by a sound. She looked down. The kids were still fast asleep. What's more, a few of them had their arms around her. So, she couldn't move. That, however, did not mean that she wasn't willing to do whatever she could to protect them. She'd be a living shield for them if that's all she could do. The sound came again. It sounded like some one, or some thing, was stepping on the branches on the ground. Fearing that it was L coming after the kids, Vinny readied to fight with all she had. The sound grew louder. " There you are Vinny." " Xavier. Thank God it's you." "Who did you think it was?" "I was afraid that it was L." "Ah, I see. Well, I didn't see him come out of here, so I guess he ran clean through to the other end and went out that way. Anyway, I see you got the kids. Good. Uh, how are they?" 'They're sleeping right now. I put them to sleep with my lullaby." " oh yeah, that always worked them when they were little. Glad to see it still works." "Xavier, it did more than put them to sleep." " They changed, Xavier," 'Just like their parents?" "Yes. You were to concerned about Andy and Patty to notice them, but I saw it. That's why I came in here. They changed and chased L into here. I guess they lost him and, when I found them, they were standing right here, looking around for him. I approached them, hugged them, and then sang my lullaby to them. It didn't just put them to sleep, it turned them back to normal." "I see. Thank God for that, huh?" "Yes." "Your awfully calm, considering all that's happened today." I'm holding it together for these kids. If they see me crying, it'll only make them feel worse." "well, they're asleep right now, Vinny. You can let it out. I won't judge you." And that's what Vinny did. She let the flood gates open. Tears came pouring out of her eyes. " Xavier, is Andy really dead?!" "Yes, I'm afraid so." " Oh, God!" She began to sob even more. Once she gained a little more control over herself, she said "You know, while I was looking for the kids, I was really wishing that I was imaging all this. And just now, I was hoping you'd say something like ' No, Vinny. It didn't really happen. It's all in your head. You got thumped on the head and your just imagining things." ''sigh' We all wish that this wasn't happening. Andy was a good friend to all of us. We all fought together and shared good times together. It's hitting everyone hard. And yet, the hardest parts haven't even come yet." "The hardest parts?" "Yeah. We have to bury him. And before we do that, we have to call Zak and all the others Andy served in the Corps with. But, before we even think about all that, we have to do something even harder. 'sigh' We have to tell Patty." "Oh, God. Now I can see why you were so worried about it earlier. It'll destroy her." "Yeah. Life has been so unfair to her. She lost her husband, and now she's lost her only son. Vinny, after we tell her, we have to do everything we can to help her." Vinny nodded in agreement. " There you are." This time it was Cash. "You found mom and she found the kids, great." Cash said to Xavier. There was an obvious sound of anger in his voice. But, no one could blame him for it. He had just lost one of his best friends. They all had the right to be angry. Even Vinny was beginning to contemplate what she would do to L or the group and it's leaders if she ever ran into them again. " Well, let's get the kids home." "Yeah. Come on Vinny." ' Coming." " Hey, Cash?" "Yeah, Grandpa?" " Your the wisest guy I know so, let me ask you this. How should Vinny and I break the news to Patty?" Cash picked up Helen and Tom and laid them over his shoulders. " All I can think of to tell you is to just make it quick. Don't drag it out. Doing that would only torture her." He then told Xavier." Okay. We'll try to make it as easy as possible on her." "She lost her only son, Xavier. There is no easy for her." "I suppose your right. There was no 'easy' for me either, when my daughter died." "Well, at least you can give her advice with experience." " That I can. That I can." Vinny had been listening to her son this whole time. They were each carrying two kids, and yet it seemed like Cash didn't even notice that he had the weight of his son and daughter on his shoulders. She had wondered if he was planning some kind of revenge on L and the group. After all, she could hear that tinge of anger under his voice. But, she knew, no matter how much he might want to kill them, Cash was no murderer. She knew that he had sworn to Agito that he would never use his powers to commit any crime, especially not murder. Besides this knowledge, Vinny could hear something else in Cash's voice. It was mixed in with the sound of anger. To a point, it sounded like this other sound was fighting the sound of anger. That was the sound of an incredible calmness. She couldn't understand why Cash was so calm. She herself was just barely keeping herself from exploding into a combination of more tears and rage. She could only assume that Agito had trained him to be this way. Trained him to be able to push his emotions off to the side, so that he could focus and get the job at hand done. Whether that emotion be anger, like right now, to something like love, Cash could push it aside and stay amazingly focused. Right now, it seemed that he all wanted was to get his kids home and into their own beds. They emerged from the woods to see the ambulance Simon had called for had arrived. They were loading Andy's body into the back. Cash merely shook his head and continued on. " Come on Kate. Let's got home and get these two to bed." "Right." " Xavier." "Yes, Cash?" " As soon as I've got the kids situated, I'll be over to help you with Patty." "And we'll come too." Simon said. Theodore nodded. "Alvin?" "We'll see. I've got some thinking to do." "Fair enough." " Let's go, Brittany." "Here mom, 'sniff' I'll take Eliza off your hands." Brittany said. Her eyes were redder than her hair. Vinny handed Eliza over to her mother. " You think Alvin is gonna be okay?' Eleanor asked. "Are any of us really 'okay' right now, Ely?" Simon asked. " Well, no. I know I'm not. The only reason I stopped crying, I think, is because I ran out of tears. But, that's not the point. Do you think he's going to do something about this? He said that he had some 'thinking' to do. Alvin's always been act first, ask questions later. The only time he thinks things all the way through is when he's making battle plans with you guys. So, do you think he'll.." "Do something stupid? I hope not, but we'll keep an eye on him, just in case." "Yeah, that's a good idea. You've told us about how he kicked all the plants out of the house after Cookie Chomper died. Because they were alive, and that meant that they could die on you. If he went that far for a cat, I'd hate to think about he might do right now." "We'll keep him under control, Ely. Now, we should all go home." "Yeah." "Is somebody gonna call Dave and Rebecca and tell them about this?" Theodore asked." I will." Jeanette said. " Once I stop crying long enough to." "Let's go, Vinny." Xavier said. Vinny nodded. They returned home. "Oh your back." Patty said. " Where's Andy?" Vinny began to sob again. " You Tell her, Xavier. I can't, I just can't!" Vinny ran to her room. "Xavier? What' going on?" " 'sigh' You'd better sit down, Patricia." Patricia sat down. "Patty, I'm sorry." "About what?" "There's been an incident." "Incident?" Patty, I really hate to have to say this but, Andy's.. He's.. He's dead." 'What?!" "I'm so sorry, Patty." _

_New munks_

_Not the chipmunk way_

_Meanwhile, Alvin was brooding at home. He wanted to lash out at the group. He knew they were behind this. He wanted to find them. He wanted to kill them. But, doing so was easier said than done. The fact that the group could strike them so hard, and that they couldn't do anything about it right now, was riving him crazy. Brittany came back down stairs. "How is she?" Alvin asked about his daughter. "Sleeping peacefully in her bed. 'sigh' It was hard to get her into the bed. I had to force myself to stop crying long enough in order to do it. I can't believe this actually happened. It just doesn't seem real." Alvin punched the wall. "Those sons of bitches!" "Alvin, quiet down. You'll wake Eliza up." " Brittany, where are my sai?" "In the dresser, like always. Why? What are you planning to do, Alvin?" "I'm going to take my sai, go out and find those group leader assholes, because they probably ordered this, and then I'm gonna slaughter them." 'No, Alvin! That's not the chipmunk way. That's not the Seville way." " Forget the chipmunk and Seville ways! A young man is dead because of us, Brittany! He's lying on a cold steel table at the city morgue right now, because of us! If we'd just tried to defend our own kids, like we should have, in the first place, none of this would have ever happened. It's our fault for being too weak! So, the least I can do is find Andy's killers, and kill them back. An eye for an eye." "But, Alvin.." "Was only nineteen, Brittany! They cut him down so young. He was in his prime!" " So are you! Your not that much older than Andy was, Alvin." "That doesn't matter. I owe this to Andy. So, I'm not going to rest until I have their heads on a silver platter." " No, Alvin. You can't do that. I know how you feel but, killing them won't solve anything. Sure, it'll make you feel better but, really, it'll only make you no better than them. And your way better than them. Don't lower yourself to their level like this." " I'm gonna find them, and when I do, I'm gonna kill them, Brittany. And there's nothing you can do to stop me." Brittany latched onto her husband. ' Please Alvin. Listen to me. Don't do this. If you go out there like this, they might kill you too. I already lost one my good friends today, I don't wanna loose my husband too." " You make a good point." Brittany smiled in the hope that she had finally gotten through to Alvin. "It'll be easier to kill them if I had my brothers help me." "Alvin!" " I'm going to go find my brothers." " Alvin!" Alvin was already out the door. " Alvin..." "Mom?" "Eliza! When, when did you wake up?" "Just a second ago. Why did dad leave in such a hurry?" "He's out for blood." "Out for blood? Why?" " Because of what happened today." "Because of what happened today? 'gasp' So, that wasn't a dream. Mom, is Andy really gone?!" "Yes, I'm afraid he is, honey." " I was hoping it was a bad dream." "We all wish it was a bad dream, honey. But, it's not. This is life and your father's out for revenge. He wouldn't even listen to me." "What should we do?" "We've only got one hope. Alvin went to get his brothers. We can only hope that Cash can talk him down." Meanwhile, at Xavier's. " No." "But, Cash!" "I understand how you feel, Alvin but that's just not who we are. That's not the chipmunk way." "You sound like Brittany. Forget this the chipmunk way! Now's the time for action! Can't you hear patty crying upstairs?' "I hear her just fine Alvin." 'hen why aren't you grabbing your sword and getting it ready to slice some group heads off?!" 'Because I'm not a killer Alvin. And neither are you. Look inside yourself, you know you don't want to kill them." "The hell I don't! I want their heads on a silver freaking platter! And I want you to help me get that. Simon and Theodore are in, aren't you guys?" "well, Alvin, a part of me really wants to go with you and massacre those bastards for what they've done. But, the other part of me is telling me that it's a bad idea. And, I'm inclined to believe that part." Simon said. "Come on guys! Andy's dead because of these guys! We should hunt them down and make them pay!" "And we will, Alvin. But, first calm down. Look at yourself. You've let your anger get the best of you. You don't actually want to kill them, and you know it. Your anger is just making you believe that you do." Cash said. " Sometimes I don't understand you bro. Don't you want to these guys and make them pay?" "Yes, I do." "Then why don't you want to help me." "Because two wrongs don't make a right, Alvin. Killing them for them killing Andy won't make him come back. Killing isn't the right course of action, and it never is. You know that." "How can you be so damn calm?!" "Because I have to be. I'm supposed to be the leader, right? Help all of you keep your heads on straight? Well, a leader has to be calm to do that. You think that I don't want to go find these guys? Of course I do. You think that I don't want to make them pay? Of course I want them to pay. I wanna beat them within an inch of their lives. But more over, I want them pay the way Andy would want them to pay." "What?" "I know And wouldn't want us to kill them. He'd tell you the same thing I'm telling you. Killing them wouldn't make things right. He'd tell you that just the same as I am. He'd be giving you this exact same speech. He'd be telling you to calm down, get your head back on straight and help come up with a plan. He'd want us to do this the right way. The way we always do it. So, we are going to take action, Alvin. We're going to go out there and run every lead we can get into the ground until find them. Then, we'll do whatever we must to capture them. You can bet that we'll have to fight them in order to do it, so feel free to take as many shots as you like then. I'm giving you the go ahead right now to not pull any punches when that time comes. And, once we've fought them into submission, we're going to brig them to the police, make them stand trial and then make them face whatever punishment the court decides is appropriate for their crimes. We're going to make them face justice. Because that's who we are. That's what we do and it's Andy would want us to do. But, first, we've got to make sure that were al on the same page. So, before we do anything, you need to calm down." "You've got a point, Cash. I'd still like to kill them, but I won't. Like you said, it wouldn't make things right and wouldn't be doing what Andy would want s to do. So, now that I'm calm, what are going to do?' "For right now, we make funeral plans. We have to make some phone calls. Get a hold of some people for Andy's funeral." "Yeah, i guess your right. Do you think they do that 'twenty-one guns salute' thing in british military, like they do here in the states?" "I'm sure they do. Or least something like it." "Well, we better make sure they do that then." 'yeah." "And you've got poem to memorize don't you?" " Oh yeah, that. I can't believe that i have to make good on my promise this soon. But, it's what Andy wanted, and it's what he'll get." 'Right, and once all that's done?" "Then the hunt begins. Once we've given Andy the send off he deserves, we're going after the group like never before. Like I said, we'll follow every lead to it's end. We won't rest until we bring them in." "Right." Theodore said. 'The group's days are numbered." Simon said. "You hear us, you sons of bitches? We're coming for you." Alvin said. "But, first, i should go home and tell Brittany that I'm not out for blood anymore. I guess I really scared her. I should go apologize."_


	128. Chapter 128

New Munks

Carmen

"Yes, Hello. Is this Steven Mitchell? Hello sir. My name is Katrina Seville. Yes, of the chipmunks. Yes, yes, I'm happy to hear that your daughter loves our band, but I have something serious to talk to you about. Did you know an Adrian McNab? Oh, Zak told you about him working for us? Well, that cuts this conversation in half then. Anyways, I have unfortunate news for you. I regret to tell you that Andy passed away. He was killed, protecting our children. Yes, my husband is leading the charge in tracking his killers down. But, they aren't going to be going after them seriously until after Andy's funeral. We figured it'd be best to concentrate on one thing at a time. Good, I thought you'd say that. Don't worry, we'll furnish your flight. We've already readied our plane and our grandfather, Xavier Franklin, is on his way. The rest of your old team agreed to come, so meet them at the airport and Xavier will pick you all up there. Alright, I'll see you then. Yes, I wish we could meet under better circumstances too. Alright, goodbye." Katrina sighed as she hung up from her long distance call. She had called Andy's cousin in Australia, and he said he was coming. She had called the cousin that Andy and Patty had lived with before Andy had gotten the job. His name was Frankie McNab and he and his wife, Laya, said they were coming. Zak and Donna were, of course, coming, and now, so were the rest of Andy's old team. All of the munks friends who knew and respected Andy would be there. Harry's kids would be there to support their friends and respective significant others. But, for most of the guests, Katrina had taken it upon herself to help Patty by calling all the others. " Anybody else you want invited, Patty?" Patty appeared to be looking at something. " Patty?" " Oh, sorry, Katrina. I wasn't paying attention." ' It's alright. Say, what are you looking at?" " My old locket." Katrina looked at the picture inside the locket. "Okay, I know the woman is you, the man is your husband and the boy is Andy, when you were all younger, right?" "Correct." "Okay, but, who's the girl?" "My daughter, Carmen." "I see, wait, daughter?! I thought Andy was an only child." " No, he has an older sister. Her name is Carmen. She's four years older than Andy. Making her twenty-three." "Okay, but, why haven't you ever mentioned her?" "Well, so many things have happened to us, and so fast, I never had time. On top of that, she and Andy had a huge fight once." "A fight?" "Yes. I don't remember what it was over but, I do remember that it was just after Kirsty killed and herself and just before Carmen left to live on her own." "Did they ever make up?" "Of course. About a week after the fight, they made up." " Ah, that's good. Well, do you want to invite her?" "Well, I don't know." 'You don't know? What do you mean? I thought you said they made up." "They did. Honestly they did." 'Well, what's the problem then?" " Carmen, and her husband, are both attorney's or a major corporation here in the states. I'm afraid that she may be busy." " Patty, she wouldn't be much of a sister if she didn't at least try to come. Tell me her number, I'll call her." "Very well." Meanwhile.. "So, Sarge, are we going to do the volleys over the grave for Andy?" another of Andy's old teammates asked. His name was staff sergeant Jack Lowell. The other men on the munks plane were private Steven Mitchell, who happened to live very close to the airport, then there was lance corporal Lewis Coop, and Sergeant Dave 'Sarge' Watson. " Of course we are. Andy deserves it." "Hell yes he does." Lewis said.

New Munks

The poem

" Hello everybody. My name is Simon Seville. On behalf of Patty, the McNab family, and the chipmunks, we'd like to thank all of you for coming. By Patty's request, I'll be officiating this funeral. So, if I mess up, please don't hold it against me. This is my first time doing this and I'm feeling the same way you all are. That being said, let's begin. Today, we are gathered to lay Adrian McNab to rest. But, though this is a somber time, I don't think Andy would want us to mourn his death, he'd want us to celebrate life. His, ours, and just life in general. My brothers and I, and I hope you all, agree that that's the way Andy would want us to do this. So, first, I'll read Andy's obituary and then we'll have the reverend say a word of prayer and, if any one wishes to, you can come up and share some fond memories of Andy for everyone to enjoy. Alright, here we go. Adrian McNab was killed by a crazed gun man, while protecting the children of the chipmunks, on March twenty-fifth. He is proceeded in death by his father, George McNab and fiancé, Kirsty Neal. He is survived by his mother, Patricia McNab, his sister, Carmen Lane, and many friends who consider themselves fortunate enough to have known him. That's it. Now then, Reverend, if you would." The Reverend got up and said the prayer. Patty was first to get up. She told about how Andy was a loyal and caring son. Next, Carmen, who had come just like Katrina said she would, got up to say how Andy was the best little brother she could have asked for. Andy's teammates told how they firmly believed that he was the most devoted soldier and friend they had the pleasure of serving with and considered it a great honor to have fought along side him. Finally, Theodore got up. "Well, I know I don't need to say anything about how good a person Andy was. You all covered that for me. But, I will say this. Andy was someone I highly respected. When I met him I knew he was different than all the other people we could have gotten for the job of being our kids bodyguard. Unlike those people, Andy didn't treat this as just a job. He treated as chance to make friends, and that's exactly what he did. we came to appreciate his service and friendship to the point where we inducted him into the Seville family. And, to say that our kids loved him is an understatement. For not only did Andy protect them with his brawn, he protected them with his brains. I was always amazed at how he seemed to be able to find just the right information so that he could protect our kids. And, on top of that, Andy treated the kids as if they were his own. Meaning he listened to them and took their ideas into consideration before he did anything. And, if for nothing else, I respected him for that, since it would be so easy to do the exact opposite of what he did. And, I want to say something to my nephew Tom." Tom and Roxy looked up. "Tom was the one that fateful bullet was originally meant for. Andy jumped in front of that bullet to save Tom. Listen buddy, I know you might be thinking that it's all your fault. But, it's not, okay? Anybody faced with certain death would lock up. No one is holding you accountable, okay? I'm sure that if he could, Andy would tell you that it's not your fault. It was fate. That's what he would tell you, I'm sure of it. He'd tell you to not blame yourself, none of you kids should. What happened was out of your power. And, I know Andy and everybody else here understands that and don't blame you. And, finally, Tom, I know if he could, Andy would tell you to keep living. To survive and make something of yourself. In my opinion, you owe it to him. Matter of fact, I think we all owe him that. I think we should all live our lives the best way we know how, if only for Andy's sake. I, I don't really know what else to say. Andy was a good friend, and I feel privileged to have known him. Thank you." Simon got back up. "Thank you, Theodore. I'm sure we all agree with what you said. I know, Jeanette, Tony and myself will do just what you said. So, does anybody have anything else to say? No? Cash, Alvin?" "No." Cash said. "Everything that he deserved to have said about him has been said." Alvin said. Cash nodded. " Very well then. Well, now, Cash will come up. Andy requested that Cash read a particular poem at has funeral, should he die before us. Cash?" "Right. Alright, like Simon said, this is what Andy wanted and this is what he'll get. I've read this poem a couple times since Andy handed it to me, and I think really fits his character. In my opinion, it basically says' what are you crying over me for? I'm in a better place now. So, don't mourn my death, celebrate my life. Celebrate life in general and live yours to fullest.' But, I'll read it now, and you can work out it's meaning for yourself. Here goes. Ahem. ' When I must leave you for a little while- please do not grieve and shed wild tears and hug your sorrows to you through the years. But start out bravely with a gallant smile; And for my sake and in my name, Live on and do all things the same, Feed not your loneliness on empty days, But fill each waking hour in useful ways, Reach out your hand in comfort and in cheer and I in turn will comfort you and hold you near; and never, never be afraid to die, for I am waiting for you in the sky!' That's all." Cash then sat back down. " Thank you for that, Cash. Well, if there's no one else who wants say something, we'll concluded the service and proceed to the cemetery. Please come up and pay your last respects." As people began to file up to the casket, the song 'leave out all the rest', by Linkin park began to play. This was also another of Andy's requests. "When my time comes, forget the wrong that I've done. Help me leave behind some reasons to be missed. Don't resent me, and when you're feeling empty. Keep me in your memory, leave out all the rest. Leave out all the rest." Finally, the guys, Dave and Xavier, serving as pall bearers, carried Andy's casket out to the hearse and then everyone traveled to the cemetery. Andy's teammates, along with Andy's uncle Matthew and Carmen's husband Hector, fired off three rifle volleys each over the grave. They then saluted Andy one last time and took their seats for the final part of the service. Andy was entombed in a silent moment and everyone returned to their cars to go the munks church for the wake dinner. Tom stopped. His cousins soon followed. They walked back to the grave. There stood Andy's spirit, along side a girl they assumed to be Kirsty. ' Hey, guys." "Andy, I'm so sorry. It's all my fault." Tom said. "No, Tom. You heard your uncle. It wasn't your fault. It was fate. And, even if you were to blame, you wouldn't be alone. I mean, if L hadn't knocked that gun out my hand, then Grant wouldn't have picked it up. But, I had never even brought, then this wouldn't have happened. No one person is to blame, okay? It's not your fault. Besides, now I can finally be with Kirsty." "Hello everyone." Kirsty said. "I want you all to look at something." Kirsty's spirit turned around and showed her beautiful set of wings. "Andy helped earn these. With his sacrifice, I have set of wings to fly around in with. And I am very proud of them and him." "But, listen just because I'm dead, that doesn't mean my job is done. I'm still going to be watching out for you. Kirsty and I are gonna join the other angels watching over you. So, we have to go now. Be seeing you." " Goodbye for now, Andy.' Helen said.


	129. Chapter 129

New munks

Limits

Two days after Andy's funeral, the chipmunks were out trying to find any leads they could get in order to find the group and bring them in, before taking the day off for Helen's birthday tomorrow. They weren't interested in killing the group back for killing Andy, because they now knew for sure that that wasn't what Andy wanted. The kids had told them about Andy and Kirsty appearing before them after the funeral and what they had said. Since they knew how close, in a sense, Andy still was, they didn't want to anger him. Best not to make something you can't even touch, let alone fight, angry. Not that they were ever planning to kill them anyways. But, it served as a reminder, just in case any murderous thoughts ever crossed their minds. For even more of a reminder, at least for Alvin and Cash, the memory of the night they met the ghost girl Molly in Ireland kept repeating itself in their minds. They weren't able to touch molly, yet she could do whatever she liked to them. It was a good thing for them that she turned out be a good girl, and didn't want to hurt them. But, it still served as experience. You can't hurt a ghost, but a ghost can sure hurt you. And, Andy was far older than Molly when he died, so he could come up with a lot more ways to cause damage than she ever could. They just considered themselves lucky that both spirits were their friends and wouldn't hurt them. But, as with humans, ghosts can become unpredictable if you make them angry. They thought it best not to push it, even if the spirits were their friends. Ring. "Hello?" "Hey, Cash. It's Al." "Oh hey Bro. Do you guys have anything to report?' "Other than the fact that we haven't found jack? No." ' I see. The others couldn't find anything either. So, I called them on back. You guys can come back home too. I'll go over what know so far again and hopefully find something we overlooked.' "Okay. Man, this pisses me off." "What?" "That this is all we can do. I mean, as many times as we've done this before and now, when it really counts, this all we can do? Are we really so limited?" "Well, I guess we are, Alvin. Our resumes say we're rock stars, not detectives. But, look at it this way. Despite the fact that we're not professional detectives, we're far more organized and we know a lot more than most professionals would by now." "I suppose your right." "Just come home for today Al. You've done plenty for now." "Alright. Oh, hey, Brittany just told me we're close to Pink's, you want us to pick up some lunch for everyone?" "Yeah, sure. That'd be nice." "Well, what does everyone want?" "Hold on. Hey guys, Al and Britt are bringing lunch home from Pink's. What's everyone want?" "Get me a foot long hotdog, with mustard, ketchup and chili sauce, please." Theodore sad. 'Make that two." Eleanor said. 'Simon, Jeanette?" "I'd like a hot dog with relish, please.' Jeanette said. " Get me one with chili sauce and onions." Simon said. "Kate?" "Just chili sauce is good with me." "You got all that, Al?" "Yeah. What do you want?' 'Eh, just get me the same as Kate." "Okay. We'll be home soon." "Alright." And so, Alvin and Brittany headed to Pink's. Pink's was a famous hot dog restaurant that, since opening in the 1930's, had rubbed elbows with Hollywood's elite. Actors, singers, business moguls. If they were famous, they've probably been to, or at least heard of Pink's. And, Alvin was in good with the ladies who ran the restaurant. He knew that they would give him the kids hotdogs for free. They'd have to be basic, ketchup only hotdogs, but they'd be free. "Hey Alvin. What can I get you?" The lady taking orders asked as Alvin walked up. " Well.."

New Munks

L is Dead

"Happy birthday, Nell!" Everyone shouted the next day. " Thanks everyone. Though, it's not really happy is it?" Clearly, Helen's birthday wish was that Andy, and possibly Tara, were still around to help her celebrate. " Think of it this way Nell." Simon said. " Do you think Andy and Tara would want you to be like this on your birthday? All sad and not enjoying yourself like you should be?" " How'd you know I was thinking about Tara too?" "I saw the look in your eye. Now, answer my question, please." "Well, no, I don't think they would." "My point exactly. I know those two loved you, and they'd want you to enjoy your birthday. So, for their sake, try to enjoy it. Crack a smile, laugh, do something a little girl celebrating her eighth birthday would do." "Alright. Um, how about cake?" 'I thought you'd ask for that!" Ben shouted. He had been eying Helen's cake all day, even though his own eighth birthday was only a week away. He knew it was chocolate, with a butter cream based icing on it. That combination spelled 'good cake' in the son of Theodore's mind. Eleanor brought the cake out and set the candle, shaped like an eight, on it. She then struck a match and lit the candle. " Okay, Nell. Make your wish and blow out the candle." Eleanor told her niece. "I wish that we can catch, or at least get a good lead on the group really soon." "Your not supposed to say I out loud Nell." Eliza said. "Doesn't matter, cause I know it's going to happen anyway." Helen then blew out her candle. "Because I'm going to do all I can to make sure it does." "Now that sounds like the Helen Seville we all know and love." Theodore said. "Yeah, good bye sad Helen, hello good, old confident Helen." Brittany said. Meanwhile, a weakened Mike Libby was brought before an angry Sean and Naomi Franklin. 'Well, now that you've woken up, L, what do you have to say for your failure?" Sean asked. " I'm not L." " What?' "I was, but not anymore." "Are you saying that you gave being L because of your failure? Because Grant got killed, or because, though that blasted body guard got killed, the children got away? Because, out of the seven you were supposed to kill, six got away and the one that did die managed to kill your accomplice before he met his end? Anyway you slice it, even if you give up being L as penance, you still failed us when we need you to succeed." Naomi asked. " I didn't fail you, L did." "And you are L!" "No, not anymore." "What the hell are you trying to say?! Spit it out!" " I'm not L anymore because L is dead!" 'What?" 'You both know that I have, well, had a split personality disorder. But, then that day came. The men who were with Grant and I told me how I ended up at the bottom of that quarry. I only remember waking up in that quarry, but they told me what happened before that. They told me how Andy pushed L and Grant over the edge, before dying, they guessed, from blood loss in mid fall. They guessed that's how he died because, from the information they had gathered from following the munks to the coroner's, Andy was dead before he hit the ground." "Yes, yes, we've heard about all that too. But explain this thing about L being dead." " Well, like I said, I had a split personality disorder. Basically, I was two separate beings living in the same body. Two different souls sharing one vessel. When I switched to L, I only remembered what he'd let me. L was another being, alive inside my mind. So he could make conscious decisions. And, because he was alive, he could die. I don't know how, maybe hitting the ground that hard should have killed me, but I had L. I had another life I could sacrifice instead of losing my own. So, L died in my place. No matter how many times I've tried, I can't summon up L. I can't become L anymore. I'm back being the way I was born. One mind, one soul, one life. But, that isn't to say that L didn't take as much from me as he could when he went. All of his injuries, I still have. My ribs still ache, I have throbbing headache, and it's all I can do not to pass out again like I did when I first got back here. So, please, let me go back to my room and recuperate." " Very well." Sean said. "Sean, do you really believe all that?" " Naomi, I've spoken with l and I've spoken Mike here. And I noticed that, when I would be talking to Mike, I could see L watching me behind Mike's eyes. And, just now, I didn't see that. So, I can only assume that what Mike has said is true and L really is dead. L died in his place. But, those two sick psychos that left us in charge, hired this man, and left his services to us. I looked over the contract. There were two signature. I didn't understand that until now. Two signatures means that there are two people in service to us. So, Mike, under the contract you and L both signed, you will do one last job for us. After you've recuperated for as long as we see fit, we will send Ian, Frankenstein, and the Vorsteins, along with a small army of, I guess you'd call them henchmen, to keep the parents busy. Meanwhile, your going to find and kill the children." 'No, please. Not that. With out L, I wouldn't be able to bear the reality of actually doing that. Please don't make me do it. I couldn't live with it." Mike began to shake. He tried to hide it, but Sean had already noticed. "Tell me, Mike. How long has it been since you've had your precious pills?" This got Naomi's attention. "I see. Yes, you were asking for some pills just before the mission that killed L. We told you you'd get some after the mission was over. And you've been out for a while. You haven't had any pills for days and you've never gone that long with out them have you? You must be experiencing withdrawal by this point. Yes, that shaking, that's an obvious sign. You need your pills, or your withdrawal symptoms are only going to get worse. So, we'll make you a deal, Mike. To prove that we're not monsters who play God like the original leaders of this group, we will cut you some slack. Your still going to have to kill the children at least. Help kill the parents, and that'll net you even more slack. " Now what does she mean by slack?" Your probably wondering. When I say slack, I mean drugs. Those precious pills of yours. We'll give you enough pills during recuperation to get you over the withdrawal. And then, if you kill the children, we'll give you a more lasting supply. How's does a years worth sound? I'll bet it sounds pretty good. And, to sweeten the deal, after you kill the children, if you go and kill their parents too, we'll quintuple it. You hear me? A five year supply, given to you all at once. Just don't take it at once of course. But, think about it mike. You'd have pills for five years. You wouldn't need to worry about how to score more for five whole years. No more attempted robberies of restaurants or anything like that to get money for them." "How did you know about that?" "Those other leaders maybe sick bastards, who like perform twisted, experimental surgeries on people while they're basically in comas, but that's not their only flaw. They also like to share information others might want them to keep quiet about. That's how we know. But, if you do as we ask, we'll give you the five year supply. No need for any robberies or anything like that for five whole years. And you know, I think we might just be able to squeeze some more money out and maybe even give you a ten year supply, if you stay on after the munks are dead and help us kill those bastards that did this to us." Naomi said, showing her arm, that still sported a surgery scar. " So, what do you say?" "I have no choice. I, I'll do it." "Good, now go and rest." Mike left the room. On the way out, he ran into Ian. " Man, you still look like hell." "I'm sorry, but I'm not in the mood to talk with you, Mister Hawke. Damn, out of all the things I could have inherited from my father, why did I have to get that damn curse?" Mike mumbled as he walked away. Ian was left to ponder what Mike meant.. He looked at the door to the leaders private room. "Man, what the hell went on that room? What did Sean and Naomi do to him? I don't like this. This is giving me a bad feeling. Sean and Naomi, you two say you hate those other two, but, judging from what I just saw from that guy, your becoming more and more like them. Just look at L. Could those two have done more to you than any of us realize? Those two. We don't even know their names, or exactly why they brought this group together. Or why, after all the failures, why they didn't disband it. There's so much we don't know about them. But, what we do know is that they've got power. Power strong enough to make everyone hear scared of them. Victor and Claudia might say their not afraid of them, but I know that's a lie. Hmm, speaking of them, I wonder if any of them have thought about this too? Maybe I should go ask."


	130. Chapter 130

New munks

From one mother to another

"Man, Pink's always does good hotdogs." Eleanor said. Today was the day after Helen's birthday. Today the guys had gone out once more to see if they could find anything else out about Andy's killers. But, unless any other members of the group would suddenly show up, the search was turning up nothing. The guys had called it quits for today, picked up lunch at pink's again, and headed home. Now, they in the other room, looking over every shred of information they had, hoping to find another lead. They really wished that they could get this settled before Ben's birthday came along. They had six days left until then. They realized that they probably wouldn't get it done before then, but they were still hopeful. The girls, meanwhile, were taking care of some paperwork for the label that Todd had suddenly dropped in their laps. When asked why they had to do this, he had reported that he had had a death in the family and had to rush off to the funeral. He said that he hated to have to drop so much in their laps, especially at a time like this, but he didn't have much choice. After hearing this, they told him they didn't mind. They would divide the work amongst the four of them and get it done in no time. And that was what they did. Right now, they were taking a lunch break. "They sure do." Brittany agreed. "Damn it! I can't find anything we haven't looked into!" They heard Alvin cry. "Just calm down Alvin. We haven't looked through everything yet." Simon said. "Damn near close though." "Well, I can't argue with you there." Simon said, a sound of frustration filling his voice. "'sigh' Poor guys. They're trying so hard.' Brittany said. "Yeah." Katrina agreed. Ding-dong. "I'll get it." Jeanette said. Jeanette answered the door. Vinny stood there with Patty. Worried about Patty's current emotional frailty, Vinny had spent a great deal of time with her lately. 'Oh, mom, Patty. Come on in.' 'No, no dear. We're just here to drop this off." Vinny said, holding up a package. "We found it in the back of Andy's closet. It's addressed to Nell. Would you please give it to her?" 'Of course." "Well, I guess we'll be going now. I promised Xavier that Patty and I would meet him for the grand opening of one of his stores." "Okay. Send our best." 'I will." "And Patty?" 'Yes, Jeanette?' 'I want you to know, we're doing all we can to find the killers and bring them to justice. In fact, the guys are in the den, painstakingly going over every scrap of information we have for a clue. So, though we've hit a little snag, we will pull this off. You have my word on it." "Thank you, Jeanette. I know your doing exactly what Andy wants you to do." "Well, we're not doing this just for his sake. We're doing this because we want to. Because enough is enough. We should have put our foot down long ago, but we didn't. But now, we are putting it down and, as I'm sure Alvin would say, the group's going down. And, I promise, I'll punch whoever is behind this at least once for you, okay?" "That doesn't sound like you, Jeanette." Vinny said. "Maybe but, though Andy doesn't want us to do this for the sake of revenge, Patricia deserves at least a little retribution. Don't you think so, Mom? I mean, God forbid but, if someone killed one of the guys, wouldn't you want something done to make yourself feel a little better?" "Well, yes, I suppose I would." "Exactly. I know I'd want something done if someone killed Tony. So, I'll give them a good shot for you Patty. I may not be able to punch as hard as some of the others, but I'll give them my best. That's a promise, for one mother to another." "Thank you, Jeanette. Well, we'd better be going. Goodbye."

New munks

Lost power

"Who was that, Jeanette?" Eleanor asked as Jeanette returned to the kitchen. " It was mom and Patty. I invited them in but, they said they had to meet Grandpa at the opening of one of his new stores." 'So, what did they come by for then?" Brittany asked. "To drop this off." Jeanette said, holding up the package. " It's a package. It's addressed to Nell, from Andy. They said they found it when they were going through his closet. I think it might be a birthday present." "Well, I'll be sure to give it to her when I get the chance." Katrina said, taking the box from Jeanette. "That's what they wanted. They wanted to make sure she got it. Say, where are the kids anyway? I haven't seen them, or Dave for that matter, for an hour." "Mom showed up and took them to amusement park with Dave. You know, to visit Frankie and Elsa and Vick and to get their minds off what's going on right now. You were in the bathroom at the time." Brittany explained." I see, probably a good idea. But, why didn't anyone bother to tell me?" "We were so busy with this paperwork, I guess it slipped our minds. And Simon said it was okay so, I guess we didn't think it would bother you either." 'Ah, well, okay then. Say, can I ask you girls something?" "We're sisters Jeanette, you can ask us anything." Katrina said. " Is there something wrong with me?" "Huh? What do you mean?" "Well, while I was talking to mom and patty, I said some things that, admittedly, don't sound like my usual self. Particularly, I told Patty I'd punch whoever is behind the group at least once so as to get a little payback for her." "Yeah, your right, that doesn't sound like you." "I know. At the time, I thought it was only right. I know Andy doesn't want us to do this for the sake of revenge but, I couldn't help but feel like something ought to be done to make Patty feel a little better. And the way I explained it.. I said that I was only doing what I know I'd want done if I was in Patty's place. I even called it a 'promise, from one mother to another." "Well, that's understandable then. Like you said, as a fellow mother, You can imagine yourself in her shoes and thus, feel her pain. I would have said the same thing, I'm sure we all would have. So, don't feel bad about it. Matter of fact, I'll even help you deck those bastards when the time comes." Katrina said. ' Me too. For Patty's sake." Brittany said. ' Count me in. I want to take a shot at them for her too." Eleanor said. " But you know, I think what Jeanette was really trying to tell us is that she surprised herself by saying that and feeling all of those emotions." "Is that so, Ely? I couldn't have guessed." Brittany said sarcastically. "Whatever, Britt. But you know, Jeanette, you shouldn't feel bad about that. It's normal feel that way in situations like this. I know you don't normally let your anger out but, right now, it's okay. Besides, we all know what happened when you bottled up your anger for too long." "Oh Yeah. That particular adventure. Back when we had the power to summon those per.." Don't say it Katrina!" Brittany shouted. " What? What's the problem? The power's gone remember? I don't think we even have them anymore, let alone the ability to summon them." "Yeah, but just don't say it. I know that power is supposed to be gone but, I don't want to chance. Back then, it seemed like whenever we said that word, they popped out. Besides, didn't we all agree to never speak of it again? Or need I remind you of what your other self revealed about you, Katrina?" " No, I remember well enough." "Right. We agreed not to talk about it, cause, for one, no one would believe us anyway and two, everybody had certain thoughts they'd rather kept hidden revealed. We agreed not to talk about it, just out of shear embarrassment. So, can we kindly drop it?" " Yeah, okay. But still, Jeanette, you should remember that incident. If you don't let it out every once in a while, you'll explode, like your other self did back then. Remember, we have to work at overcoming what created those other munks in there first place. Yes, part of it was because of the effect of the place we were in and all that jazz but, if we didn't have those doubts and fears in the first place, then those other munks would never have been created. Just remember what the other Jeanette was like. You don't want to turn into her, right?" "No, I don't." "Right, of course you don't. So, just a vent a little every once in a while. And you got to admit, slugging those guys is going to feel really good." Jeanette nodded. "Okay, Katrina, you can drop it now. Your going against our agreement." Brittany said. "I'm just saying.." "Well, stop saying! Those things shadow Brittany said, I've worked at changing myself so that I never feel that way again. Admittedly, my monophobia's still a problem but I don't feel that way anymore. But, even so, I don't want to remember those things, not after all the work I've done to change. So please, stop mentioning it." "Okay, Brittany. I'm sorry, I didn't know this was such a big deal for you." "Well, it is. What your shadow self said, well, obviously, you've grown completely out of it. But me, thanks to my monophobia, I live in fear that those feelings will return. So, the less I think about it, the further that possibility seems. And, that I can live with.' "Alright, Brittany, I'm sorry. I'll shut up now." "Thank you." " hmmm." Eleanor let out. "What is it Ely?" Katrina asked. " well, I know Brittany will tell me to shut it for saying this but, do you think it's right that we still keep that story a secret, when we keep telling everyone that this family of ours doesn't keep secrets? I mean, I know we all swore not to tell anyone about it for the reasons Brittany said earlier, but still. Don't you think that it makes us, to some extent, hypocrites?" "Well, I look at it this way." Katrina said. " I believe someday, we'll be able to talk about it, even though no one will probably believe us. Even Brittany will be able to do it, someday. It's just that, that day hasn't come. Someday, something will happen, and we'll have to tell it. You know how we keep telling people that this family doesn't keep secrets when we want them to tells us something? Well, I believe one day, somebody, probably the kids, will catch us like we catch those people and then we'll tell it. And then, we won't feel like hypocrites. And, i don't right now. Because, all those involved know it and we can talk about to those involved, Brittany." "Okay, Okay. Just don't say that word." "Alright. Anyway, so long as those involved remember and we can talk about it with them, then i don't feel like a hypocrite because somebody knows about it. And, though the conversations on this subject are few and far between, we still end up telling each other more each time. We tell each other new stuff, like how we've changed since then. And, doing so drives that feeling away. You understand what I'm saying, Ely?" "Yeah, i get it. Now that I think of that way, I don't feel like a hypocrite. Like you said, someday we'll tell them." 'Right." " Okay, can we drop it now?" Brittany asked. " one last thing.' Eleanor said. "'sigh' Fine, but make it quick." "Well, I just thought of this right now. How awesome would it be to still have the power we had back then? I mean, if we still had that, then this mess we're in right now probably wouldn't be so bad. We could use that power to further the investigation. I'm sure it would help, a lot. Don't you think?" "well, i gotta admit, you've got a point, Ely." Brittany said. "It would probably be a big help. But, we don't have it any more, so we gotta work with what we got. Now, we're dropping this okay?" "Okay." Meanwhile, at the group's base. "You." Sean said to one of the few henchwomen, who were hired by and served directly under Naomi. "Yes, sir?" " Go wake Mike. Tell him he's got the rest of today and then tomorrow to recuperate and then it's time for his last mission. ' "Well, okay, sir but, uh, considering the shape he was in when he first got back, don't you think it's still a bit early to be calling on him?" "We're getting impatient alright? We want the munks destroyed and we need him to accomplish that. Does that satisfy your concern? "Uh, yes sir. I'll go tell him right now!"


	131. Chapter 131

**New munks**

**Visitation**

" '**sigh' Tomorrow. I don't want any part of this anymore. With out L, I can't do this. But, what choice do I have? Argh! Damn you L! I made you up so that I wouldn't have to face the hardships of this job and then you go and get so damn strong. So strong that I had to take these damn drugs to maintain balance, maintain some control over my own damn body. And then I got addicted and then I had to keep doing this in order to get money to pay for the drugs. All I wanted when I got into this business was to earn a little extra scratch. Not a lot, just enough to make sure that I could retire early. And for a while, That worked fine. And then everything went to hell. And now your dead, L and I'm stuck in this mess." Mike was pacing about in his room at the group's base, talking to himself.. Tomorrow he would have to confront the new munks and attempt to finish what L had started. "Damn it! The doctors warned me to stay away from drugs. They said I had a risk of addiction thanks to my damn father! Damn you old man. Your as much to blame here as L. Why, out of all the people I could have ended up with as my father, why did it have to be you?!" He screamed at the ceiling, as if his father was there. He fell to his knees. Never in his life had he felt so defeated. He knew he needed the drugs, but he didn't want to go through with this last mission in order to get them. He had also thought about any possible ways to get out of this. He thought about killing himself, but decided against it, since that was a cowards way out. He figured that, despite what he had become, he was still no coward and he would not die a cowards death. He next thought about trying to kill Sean and Naomi. But, once he thought this choice through, he realized that that was not an option either. He figured that, with the amount of men and women they had at their disposal, some one would kill him before he could pull a trigger or get close enough with a knife, if he even got that far. Not to mention, something about Sean and Naomi scared him. They seemed off, really off, and he didn't know why. They were different somehow than when he first met them years ago. Back then, despite their money, they didn't have what it took to even bother him, let alone scare him. But now, they were changed and he didn't know what they were capable of. And that unknown scared him. That and the fact that they were pushing forward like people possessed. For they were dead set on having the kids die as well. Sure, he knew that the members of the group had tried to kill the munks many times already. But, unless pushed to the point that their anger started doing the talking for them, they never showed any interest in killing their kids. Not that he knew of anyway. Sean and Naomi, however, did want them dead. They didn't just want the munks dead, they wanted them eradicated. Every last trace them, destroyed. And that meant that the kids, being the munks descendants and carrying some of their dna inside of themselves, had to die too. At least, in their twisted minds it did. So, after all this thinking, he had returned to trying to come up with an idea of how to get out of this. The only other idea he could come up with was to go cold turkey. To give up the drugs for good. But, this was impossible as well. He was well beyond the point of no return. And, he had tried many times in the past to quit but, he would always return. He cursed his luck. " Dear God!" He cried out. "I know I am likely the least deserving of your grace and mercy but, please, I' begging you. Help me. I can't do any of the things I've thought of. So please, send me a sign. Tell me what I'm supposed to do!" Suddenly, Mike felt incredibly dizzy. He merely had time to wonder if this was the withdrawal symptoms returning for a second before he was out cold on the floor. " Mike' A voice called from the shadows inside Mike's mind. "Who's there?" " Come on mike, you know me." " It can't be, Andy?" Andy suddenly appeared before him. "That's right Mike." "Come to haunt me? Eh, I deserve it." "No, Mike. That's not hat I'm here for. Listen, I want you to try your best not to go through with the mission tomorrow." " How did you know about that?' "I read your thoughts. It's one of the perks being a spirit has." 'I see. Well, if you read my thoughts, you I can't not go through with the mission. I have to do it. I need those drugs, Andy." "But, I know your stronger than that, Mike. I know from experience. I'm sure that I don't need to remind you of just how hard you hit me during our fight years ago. I know you can fight those urges. You can fight off the need." " No, I can't! I'm sorry, Andy, but, I've got to have my pills. I can already feel my body beginning to slide back into the withdrawal stages again. If I don't get more pills soon, I'm sure this withdrawal will kill me. I'm sorry Andy, but, I'm not ready to die yet. And call me selfish but, I want to die the way I want to. How that is, I haven't decided yet. But, I know I don't want this withdrawal to kill me. So, I have to get those pills, no matter what doing so entails.' " I see. Well, You can't say that I didn't try. Now, it's up to the almighty." "What? What are you talking about?" ' You asked God to help you. Well, I guess he decided to let m try to help you before he did. And, as you can see, I've failed. But, now, I can feel that the almighty has plan in motion. A plan to save you." "A plan to save me? He's coming up with a plan to save a worthless piece of trash like me? Why bother?" "Because, he's God, Mike. That what he does. Because he has role set up for everyone on this earth to play. A greater purpose. I do believe that those who stick around, despite all the hardships they've seen and should be dead because of, aren't going to die until they've fulfilled that purpose. God must have a plan for you, Mike. Otherwise, you'd have been dead already. He must in something in store for you to do. And so, he's going to help you fix the problems you have right now, so that you can move on to getting what he wants you to do done. Don't ask me how I know all that, I just do. And, what he's planning to do to help you right now, well, I don't know that either. But, I do know that something is going to happen tomorrow. Something is going to be done or said that is going to help you get your life back on track." ' I see. Then, what should I do to get ready for this?' " I don't know that either. I don't think you really can. It's just going happen and you'll know when it does. Just keep your eyes opened, okay?" 'Okay. So, I'm still going to go and attempt the mission, but during that, God's plan will come into action?' " Yes." "Good, good. It would seem that God is as good as they say." " You haven't see anything yet. Just you wait until tomorrow." Mike nodded. "You know I don't think that I've ever been to church since I was a lad. I remember going once, around Easter, when I was about six. Never been since. But, if this is going to be as good as you say it will be, I think I may just start going. "I'm sure that would make him very happy. 'groan'." ' what's wrong?" "This is one of those side effects of being a guardian angel that don't mention in the bible. Once your a person's, or group or people's, guardian angel, you can't stay too far away from them for very long. You see, if you do, you start getting weaker. Yes, even spirits can get be drained of their strength. But, being close to those watching over some how keeps you strong. I've got to get back to the kids. I'm one of their guardian angels. I have to go now. Goodbye." "Tomorrow. Maybe it won't be so bad after all."**

**New munks**

**Saving grace**

**Today found Tom and his cousins, in the park, training together for a change. Lately, they seemed to do many things they didn't normally, mostly to get their minds of what was going on around them right now. They were in the park, being watched by Vinny. Patty was at home, spending time with Geneva. This left her free to watch the kids while their parents were busy searching for leads in the case. She watched as Tom narrowly avoided being struck in the back of the head by Tony's bo staff. She couldn't help but note a tinge of sadness in all their faces. They missed Andy. They knew he was watching over them, but it wasn't the same as having there in the flesh. She wished there was something she could say or do that would make them feel better, but nothing would come. So, she could only watch and feel powerless. While she watched her grandchildren, she noticed them look at their hands every once in a while. She tried to explain the reason for this to herself. They had been told that they had changed into their dark selves that day and, perhaps, this staring was a result of them wondering what that had been like, for they didn't remember anything from the time they were transformed. This explaination made the most sense to her. But, if that was the case, then she also knew what the looks they had on their faces with every glance at their hands were. They were looks of worry. She recalled the first time they had encountered the dark munks, all the way back during their first encounter with Claus and Claudia. Seeing their parents that way scared them but, they dreams they had that night about their own dark selves emerging and consuming them scared them more. This worried look's reason was easy to figure out. They were afraid of what could happen to them, now that their darker sides' power had been unleashed. Vinny wished she could something about this too. But, once again, nothing that sounded right would come to her. " I wish I could do something to help them. I always feel so useless. I'm never any use to them. But, I am their Grandmother and I love them, more than they will ever know. Because of that, i know, some day, I will be of greater help to them. 'sigh' It's that that day is not right now.' She thought. She then looked to her grandchildren. They had suddenly stopped what they were doing and were all staring at something. Vinny looked to where they were looking. "Mr. L!" She thought. "Kids! Run!' " No, Grandma. You run, we got this." Tom said. "Today, we get a little payback." Tony said. "Andy doesn't want us to seek vengence but, this isn't for him. It's for Patty." " Yeah, she deserves a little payback." Olivia said. 'Yeah. And we may or may not be allowed to get at those in charge, so L here is going to have to do." Eliza said. "But.." "We've made up our minds, Grandma." Helen said. 'And we've decided to beat this guy, L, into the ground.' ben said. " L is dead, but if beating me up will make you feel better, well then, come at me." " Gladly!" The kids all shouted and rushed Mike. " Alright, god. Let's see this plan of yours." Mike thought. Made no effort to defend himself as the kids attacked him from all sides. After ten minutes of this, it dawned on Tom that Mike wasn't fighting back. He stopped just as he stood poised to deliver the finishing blow. "Come on, Tom! Finish this guy! Knock him out!" Tony yelled. Tom moved his sword away. " No." he said, turning around and walking away. " What?! Arg, fine! I'll do it myself!" Tony said. Tom grabbed his cousin by the shoulder and threw him to the ground. " I said no, Tony." " But, this guy.." "Isn't the same guy. I know, he's got the same face, same voice. All in all, it's easy to think it's the same guy for those who can't look any deeper than what's on the outside. This guy isn't L." ' How can you tell?" "Just look at him. Look at his eyes. You remember the look L had in his eyes? Well, this guy doesn't have it. In fact, he's got the opposite look. Whoever this guy is, he's not the guy we'd all really like to beat up." "No, I guess I'm not. My name is Mike Libby, by the way. " yeah, andy mentioned you. Your reason he was discharged from the core." "Yes, I suppose i was." 'Yeah, well, that's the past. What I wanna know is why you look and sound like L." Tony said. " Because, i used t be L. But, like I told you before you started attacking me, L is dead." "Huh?" Eliza said. "How is he dead, and your still alive?" "Well, it's complicated. Suffice to say that, L was a part of my mind that grew strong enough to be considered another enity, living inside my head. When L fell over the edge at that Quarry, as i was later told he did, and then hit the ground at the bottom, the impact killed him instead of me. It must have, because no matter how many times I've tried, i can't become L again. L is gone. He holds no more threat to you. The me you see before you is the original me. The one that doesn't wanna fight you, despite the fact that I've been ordered to kill you." "So, you don't wanna fight and you don't wanna kill us?" Tom asked. "No.' "Well, there you go, Tony. That proves it. If Mike was still L, then he'd wanna kill us. So, we can't beat him up." " Why not?" "Because, It's not what Andy would want us to do. Even if it is to avenge patty and releive some her pain, Andy wouldn't want us to do it. Cause, unlike L, who's already met his judgement and recieved his punishment, this guy is innocent." " Well, i wouldn't say innocent. If I had never created my L persona to help me with the rougher missions I got as a mercenary, then all this probably never would have happened. L is the one who had a hand in Andy's death but still, Andy would probably still be alive if I'd never created L. So, though you may not believe me, i am truely sorry. I wish I could apologize to his mum but, I don't think I could even get close enough to her to do it. So, if you would, even if she doesn't believe, would you please pass my apologies on to her?" "Yeah sure." " Hey, Mike?" Eliza said. ' yes?" "Why did you start being a mercenary?' 'For the extra money i could earn. 'sigh' just for greed. And the more I did it, the more money came in and the greedier i got. Eventually, the missions got so rough that I needed another persona to help me complete them. And so, L was born." "But, eventually, you probably would have said ' maybe I've got enough now and I should stop' right?" " Actually I tried, but, as I sat for a while doing nothing, L was growing stronger. Through the missions i had used him in, he had grown plenty strong already. But as I sat there doing nothing, he kept growing stronger and stronger. Eventually, he became strong enough to take control over some of my body. So, I started taking pills to quiet him and get some of my control back over my own body. But, it kept happening. So, I'd more pills. Eventually, i wounded up addicted. No better then my father, but that's a tale you don't need to hear. As I became addicted to the pills, I started taking them even when L wasn't acting up. Eventually, i had to get back in the game, just pay for my supply. Ironic, I used to L to help me get the money to pay for the very thing I originally used to keep him down. My life became a train wreck. " Well, now you see why Andy tried to stop you back then huh? I don't he saw all this coming but, he knew no good could come of you becoming a mercenary and turning your back on your country. He didn't know the reasons for all of it, but he felt like he should stop you. But Andy's gone now. It's up to you how to live your life. I know if Andy was hear, he'd tell you that, with L gone, your life is yours again. If I was you, I'd get myself into one of those rehabs and get cleaned up. Then I'd start going to church and get me a real job." Tom said. ' You know, your exactly right. That's exactly what I should do. Ah, that must have been it. Everything you just said, that must have been the something that was supposed to be said in order to get my life back on track." "What?" "Uh, nothing. Don't worry about it. I was just talking to myself." "Uh, Okay then." ' Thank you, Lord." Mike mumbled. " What?" " I said I'd better be going. But, first, do any of you still want to beat me up?" The kids shook their heads. " Tony?" "No. Like Tom said, your innocent, and it's not right to beat up an innocent person. You may have created l, but once he became he became his own entity, everything he did was up to him. And, he made of lot of bad decisions and got what was coming to him." " That sounds like the Tony I know.' Tom said. "Nice and sensible, just like unlike Simon," "Well, i have to admit, I'd still like to beat L up but, L is no more. So, i guess I gotta get over that feeling." 'Don't worry, it'll pass, as all things must.' Tom said. 'Where'd you get that line?" Eliza asked. "A movie. But, it fits in here too.' "Eh, you got a point." " Chipmunks." Mike said. "Yes?" " For helping me get started on getting my life together, with your actions and your words, I'd like to do something for you. So, listen closely. I just got a feeling, your parents are looking high and low for the leaders of the group and probably aren't having much luck, right?" The kids nodded. "Well, I can't you flat out who it is, for I fear that they may have people watching me. In fact, I'd best get away from here soon. But, before I do that, i still give you a clue. And once i do, you'd better get out of here to. Okay, are you ready?" "We're listening." "The people who brought down the order that ended up leading to Andy's death, are people that your parents have thought to e dead for years. I can't tell you anymore. I'm sorry. I hope that helps." " Knowing how smart our parents are, it probably will." "Good. Well, then, this is goodbye." 'Bye. And, good luck."**


	132. Chapter 132

**New Munks**

**Vigilante**

" **So Cash, where are we going?' Alvin asked. "To see a man about a dog." Today, armed with the information the kids had acquired from, of all people, Mike Libby yesterday, the guys were tracking down the end of this new lead. At least, Cash was. Alvin, Simon and Theodore were there because Cash asked them to come with him. "But, Cash has a dog." Theodore said, having never heard that saying before. "We're not really going to see a man about a dog, Theodore. That's just a saying. It basically means ' just follow me and you'll find out where we're going.'" Simon explained. " Oh, okay." " Seriously Cash, where are we going?" " To see the relative a friend." " Eh?" "We're going to see Dylan's brother. He's the chief of police. Since we're friends with him, Dylan assured me that we have a bit of lee-way with his brother. He said ' My brother always says ' any friend of yours, is a friend of mine.' Dylan assured me that he'll see us anytime we want, so long as we call Dylan himself first, which I did last night. So, we're scheduled to meet his brother at one o'clock, and it's 12:30 right now. There's a McDonald's close to the police headquarters. We'll eat lunch there and then go to the meeting. There now, does that satisfy your question, Alvin?" "Well, yeah, I guess. But, now I've got another." "What is it?" 'Why?" "Huh?' "Why are we going to see Dylan's brother?" " Because, I figure that, since he's the chief of police, he would have access to an old case file that I need to look at." "An old case file?" "Yeah, and it involves us, both now and in the past. You guys remember what the kids said Mr. L, I mean Mike, told them? 'The people who brought down the order that ended up leading to Andy's death, are people that your parents have thought to be dead for years.' Now, let's think about that. We know the majority of our old enemies have returned. The only ones that haven't are the ones that are, well, dead. Such as Damian, though we did have to fight his kids." " Please don't bring that up, Cash. Every time I think about that, I think about how Atticus killed Virgil. He killed the others too but, Virgil had a kid. And when I think about that incident, I can't help but think about that kid." Alvin said. "Right. Well, at least we avenged his dad's death, though he'll probably never know it." " Yeah." "Now then, as I was saying. We know of all our old enemies that have returned. The only ones I can think of that haven't returned are the Franklin kids. So, that and what Mike told the kids, makes me believe the mysterious leaders of the group have to be the Franklin kids." " But, Cash. It can't be them. They got blown up remember? I mean, you were trapped in that explosion, so you know how powerful it was. You got lucky. That stuff fell on you and shielded you. But, they weren't so lucky. They got everything that explosion had to give. They're dead, no doubt about it. So, it can't be them." " Well, who else could it be?" "I don't know but, it can't be them." Alvin and Cash continued to argue. "Who do you think is right, Simon? Alvin or Cash?" Theodore asked. " Well, in all honesty, I'm hoping Alvin is right." "Yeah, me too. Just thinking about them makes me remember how that rope felt when they put it around my neck. I know we've faced worse since then but, they were the first ones to come this close to killing us." " Exactly. But, the problem is that Cash has a point. I can't see who else it could be either. On top of that, Cash is hardly ever wrong." 'Well, we'll just have to wait and see." Later on, at the minutes. ' Now, I've got the file right here, guys. But you can't take it home. You've got to read it here and keep it to yourselves." Eric, Dylan's brother, said. " We can't even make copies of it?" Alvin asked. "No, unfortunately. The rules changed. A few years ago, i could have let you walk out of here with a copy of everything in this file. But, not now." "Why not?" "Cause, a few years back, somebody, who had copies of some incriminating evidence, was killed. We believed that the person who was sent away anyways by that information had the person with the info killed and the copies burned up. I guess because he thought it was the original evidence. Ever since then, we haven't been allowed to give out copies, and obviously we can't give out the original either. I'm not even allowed to do it, and i'm the chief. So, as you can see, I'm breaking major protocols and doing you a tremendous favor. If word about this got out, I could lose my job." " Well, we really appreciate this, Eric. And don't worry, we'll keep our mouths shut." Cash said. Cash flipped open the file and read. "Just as I thought." " What?" Alvin asked. "This says that they never found the bodies. If the Franklins did die, they should have found four bodies." "Maybe they got burned so bad that they couldn't be identified." "Even so, there still would have been bodies. And they wouldn't have mistaken them for homeless, because we flat out told them that they were the only ones in that place." " Well then, maybe they were completely destroyed. You know, blasted into oblivion. Nothing left." "We thought about that possibility. So, we looked into it.' Eric said. "Did you find anything?' Theodore asked, 'well, We found some strange residue at the scene. It was in the room that you told us they were in when the explosion happened." 'And?" Simon asked. " Well, I don't know yet. That was under the last chief's jurisdiction and he retired three years ago. And we closed that case when he retired, remember? We sent you a message telling you we did. All further investigation was supposed to stop then, including the study of that residue. But as chief, I have access to all the old evidence from that case and, since you guys are friends of Dylan's, I did you another favor and secretly reopened it. It's under my authority only though. I'm the only one following it. So, thinking that the residue could've been the remains of the Franklin siblings, I sent a sample to a really good CSI lab in town. The one testing it I believe you know. Catherine Samson?" "Oh yeah. Doc Samson's wife." Alvin said. "Right. I personally asked for her to do this. I'm trying to keep this under wraps, and I already told you why. So, I'm only using people that I know you, and I, can trust." " Right, and?" " Like i said, i don't know yet. She's supposed to call or come tell me what she finds. As soon as that happens, we'll know." Beep. Eric's intercom beeped, telling him that the receptionist down in the lobby was trying to get a hold of him. "Yes?" He answered, pressing down the answer button. "Sir, there's a Mrs. Catherine Samson down here. She says she's here to see you." "Ah, good. Send her up." Moments later. "Hey guys." "Hey, Cath." " Well, Catherine, what did you find?" Eric asked. 'Well, it's kinda human, and it's kinda not." "What?" "The residue? It was human blood, mixed with a little chipmunk blood. Now, we know the guys here and the girls fought the Franklin siblings and the Franklin siblings fought back. So, it's not that hard to figure out how that blood got there. But, it was definitely blood and only blood. No sign of human flesh, muscle, tissue or bone. Now, I'm not saying for certain but, all this leads me to believe that the Franklin kids didn't die in that explosion. If they did, even they were blasted into oblvion, there still would have been traces of flesh and bone and such. So, I hate to say it guys but, unless I missed something, the Franklin kids are alive. And I went over that residue in every possible way. I didn't miss anything." "I see.' Cash said. "Well, come on guys." 'Cash, don't do anything stupid, alright? Vigilante justice almost got you killed against these guys once. Please, just let me and the rest police force handle this." "You know I can't do that. They killed a good friend of ours. We called him family. So, we're gonna be the ones to track them down. But, We'll send them to you, when we're done with them. But don't worry, we won't kill them. If they come in dead, it's by their own hands. Now, let's go guys." And so the munks left. Eric sighed. "Aren't you gonna stop them? Can't you arrest or detain them until this is over?" Catherine asked. "No, cause they haven't done anything illegal. If they do find them, considering how much suppressed anger I heard in Cash's voice, it'll be violent, but it'll still be considered a citizen's arrest." "I just hope it's the girls that find them. If the guys find them, they'll come in alive alright, but barely. The girls would probably leave them in better shape." " I don't know about that. Cash told Dylan that they're all equally pissed. At this rate, I don't think even Jeanette will spare them an ounce of wrath. They'll vent their own anger, and then do what that McNab kid would want them to do. Cash told Dylan that that was their plan." " 'sigh' Cash. I can tell that he's about ready to explode. Like you said, he's as mad and frustrated as the rest, but as the leader, he's repressing it more." " Yeah. Man, when they find them, who knows what'll happen?" "You know, I don't really care how the franklin kids turn up. Alive or dead, doesn't matter to me. 'sigh' I just hope that this comes to end soon and that the munks can finally live in piee. Ken's told me so many things they've been through lately. They deserve rest." " Yeah. I just wish that they would've come to me, or any of the force really, instead of handling it all on their own. 'sigh' well, once this is over, I hope they won't ever see a need to risk their lives again." "Amen." Meanwhile. 'I can't take it anymore, Sean! I'm losing my mind." 'What happened, Naomi?" "I laid down for a nap and had another dream about Leon. I'm telling you, I can't those dreams anymore. They're driving me crazy. I'm starting to believe that we would have been better off dead again. Please, tell me we're going to kill those rodent bastards soon." " Hmm. Well, since Mike abandoned the mission and ran off, it looks like we have no choice to handle this ourselves. Naomi, how badly do you want a shot at them?" "More than you can comprehend." "Very well. I'll be a good big brother and let you take first shot. One stipulation though.' "what?" " You have to kill those kids first. Our lives are a living nightmare now, thanks to them. So, first, we torture them. I'll send those guys we had prepared for Mike's last mission, before you said to let him do alone, to fight their parents. You can knock the kids off however you want." "Your a good brother, Sean." "Yes, I am. Now, go get ready. Tomorrow, you take your shot. And, if they fight back, imagine they're their parents and act accordingly." "Believe me, I will."**


	133. Chapter 133

New Munks

Wild

" We're gonna go to the store real quick." Tom said. " Okay, son, but be careful." Cash said. Today the munks were at the label, taking care of any last minute things they needed to do there, before going to hunt down the Franklin siblings. Tom, Tony and Ben were present, as were Roxy, Nikki and Holly. The other boys and girls were off helping Dave help Miss Miller clean out her attic. And, knowing her, that would be an all day task." Roxy, you wanna come with us?" " Sure. Nikki, Holly?" "Sure." And so the six headed off. " So, your dad seems ready for this thing huh?" Roxy asked, referring to how fast Cash was going through the work load at the label. " You mean going out and finding those guys responsible for Andy's death? Yeah, he sure is ready for that." " You still sound sad, Tommy." "Andy was a good friend. He was family. And he died saving my life. I swear, if one of those guys comes around me, I'll.. I'll.. Well, I don't know what I'll do but, I'll do something. I owe it to Andy." " Tom." " If one of them comes near me, one way or another, I'll take them down and send them to where they belong." " Right, to the police." Ben said. "But not before we get a few shots in for ourselves." Tony said. " I hope that you guys can rest and just be yourselves again once this is over." Nikki said. " Yeah." Holly agreed. Meanwhile. " Damn, there's only three of them. Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to wait for the girls. Hmm, those girls their with seem to be important to them though. I wonder how much more damage it would do to the munks if I killed them too?" Naomi moved into position and waited. " They should be starting the attack at any minute. That'll be my cue." Ring. " Hello?" Tony answered his phone. " Tony!" "Dad? What's wrong?" " Those bastards! They attacked the label again!" "Hang on dad. We're on our way back right now." "No! Stay away from here, son. Go back to Grandma Miller's and wait for us there with the others. Ugh!" ' Dad!" "Son of a..." The line went dead. "What's going on Tony?" Tom asked. "That was dad. The group's attacked the label again." "Then we gotta go help them!" ' No. Dad was calling me to warn us not come back. He said to go to Grandma miller's and wait for them there, with the others. I think we should do as he says." "But.." " Tom, though the line got cut off, I heard enough to know that dad was cursing. He was saying 'son of a..' when the line got cut off. Now you know, dad hardly ever curses. Only in really bad situations does he start doing that. That must mean that the attack is a bad one." "All the more reason to go help them." "But we're unarmed, Tom." " So, we improvise. We've done it before." "Yeah but.. oh, I know. Think about this Tom. Most of the time, all of the attacks on the label have been a distraction for something else. What if this attack is to keep our moms and dads busy while the group goes after the others at Grandma Miller's?!" "Holy Crap! Your right! I didn't even think about that. Yeah, your absolutely right. And, no mater how tough the others are, they gotta protect Grandma Miller and Grandpa Dave. They could be used as a distraction, allowing the group guys to blind side them while they're focusing on Grandma and Grandpa. Oh man, we gotta get over there." " Right. Let's go." " Not so fast!" Naomi jumped the kids. "Who the hell are you?" Tom yelled. "Girls, run, hide." Tony whispered while he thought Tom had the woman's attention. The girls took off and hid in a near by alley. "Hmph. Run all you like girls, I'll get to you eventually." " Like hell you will!" Tom yelled. He ran at her and leaped into the air. He then slammed his fist into the side of her head. "Are you done?" " No where close! If your here, then you gotta be after us and that means that you work for the group." "You figured all that out, just by looking at me? Though I haven't said one word about being after you? Hmm, you may have a future as a detective kid. Too bad you won't live that long." "I knew it! You are after us." "Indeed I am. You were right about everything, except one thing. I don't work for the group, I lead it." "Y, you lead it!?" Tony said. 'Yes, I do. Along with my brother." "So it was you! You gave the order that killed Andy!" Ben said, fist shaking. " Well, that was just an accident really. Truth be told, I did want him out of the way but, neither I or my brother told them to shoot your precious friend Andy. We ordered you to be killed." "But still, it was your fault. If you'd just leave us alone, then...' Ben trailed off. "That's another thing. Why do you want us dead so badly for anyway!?" Tony asked. 'Because I want your parents to suffer." "What?" Tony asked. "Because of your parents, I've lost more than you can fathom. I'm barely even sure that I'm still human. But, that's beside the point. The point is that they have wronged me and family greatly. So then, they have to pay. They caused me to lose everything. First my father, then my brothers, then my inheritance and finally, they cost me my humanity." "What the hell are you on about? How did they do all that to you?" Tom asked. 'Hmph, you don't need to know. Just know that I'm going to make your deaths slow and very painful. I'm gonna pick you apart, piece by piece." "Yeah, sure, whatever. We've beaten people twice as big as you. So you think can beat us, where the others failed? Well bring it, cause though it's against my policies to hurt women, as I've already shown, I'm gonna make one hell of an exception with you!" " Us too!" Ben and Tony said together. And so the young munks attacked. Little did they know, however, that Naomi had activated her power-up system and was moving faster than they could ever hope to match. The battle waged for eighteen minutes. The boys fought valiantly, trying desperately to keep in front of Naomi, to keep her from noticing the girls, still waiting for the boys to take her down. But, eventually, the boys laid prone in front of her, gasping for breath and groaning in great pain. "Is that all you got?" Naomi asked. "What the hell are you?" Tom strained himself to ask. " I'm complicated." Naomi noticed that the boys, despite the fact that there was no way they could possibly get up, they were still trying. "Hm, tell me something boys. What are those girls to you? I know they're not your cousins, so what are they?" " We'll never tell you." Ben said, still trying to get his breath. " Aw, come on. I'll be your friend, though the friendship won't last long." "We'd rather suck face with a sewage pipe, with tongue, than ever be your friends!" Tom said. " Fine, be that way. But, you gotta tell me this. Why are you trying so hard to get back up, while I'm sure your bodies would rather lay there? This can't just be all for your friend's death. And I noticed that you tried desperately to stay in front of me, rater than surround me. Were you trying to distract me from them? Come on, fess up boys. Come on now, heck, isn't all this effort really just about those pretty little things that your trying to protect?" The boys remained silent. " Well, if they're such a big distraction..." Naomi rocketed off towards the girls. A second later, she appeared in front of the girls and wrapped one of her arms around all of their throats before they could react. She then quickly returned to her original position in front of the boys, still holding the girls. She glanced to the watch on her arm, the key to activating her 'super speed' system. The timer hit twenty minutes just at that moment and she could actually feel the system power down. "I couldn't have timed that any better." She thought. She then turned her attention back to the kids. "If they're such a distraction, then I'll just get rid of them." She placed her other arm around the three girls foreheads. Obviously, she seemed to be preparing to snap all three of their necks at the same time. "No, Roxy.." Tom managed to say. " Nikki.." Tony groaned. "Holly.." Ben said in obvious pain. "Well, here we go." " No! Let them go!" Tom shouted. He staggered to his feet. " I said, LET THEM GO!" It was then that he leaped at Naomi and smacked her arm hard enough to release the girls with his hand. " Well now, you have some fight left in you after all, eh?" Naomi then felt a sharp pain in her arm. She looked down to see three deep scratches in her arm. She then noticed that the other two boys had stood up. They had to have been standing there since Tom had leaped at Naomi to release the girls. But it was their hands she was particularly drawn too. They had fully extended claws. She put two and two together and came to the conclusion that Tom had changed as well. The threat of losing the girls they cared so much for, much like their fathers before them, had caused the boys to go through enough tormenting thoughts to cause them to transform. " YOU!" Tom said, a low growl under his voice. "YOU KILLED OUR FRIEND AND YOU TRIED TO KILL THE GIRLS WE LOVE?! OH THAT'S IT! YOUR BEYOND DEAD!" After this, Tom, along with his cousins, attacked Naomi. After beginning this attack, the boys slid further into the change, to the point where any sound coming out of their mouths was nothing more than growls. They violently attacked Naomi, leaving her no opportunity to retaliate. Tom leaped up to her face and slashed at her eyes with is claws. Tony and Ben sunk their claws into her legs and shoved her to the ground. Tom then jumped on top of her and began pounding away at any place Naomi wasn't guarding. After landing six blows to Naomi's face and two to her chest, Naomi managed to shove Tom off of her. She got to her knees, before grabbing at her chest. Tom's blows had driven the wind out of her lungs. She got up to her feet just as Tony and Ben rushed her. She attempted to kick Ben, but he grabbed her leg and slashed down it's length. He then punched her in the gut as hard as he could. As she doubled over, Tony clasped his hands together and brought them crashing down onto the back of her head. She slammed face first into the ground and was knocked out, at least temporarily. The blood loss she was experiencing was immense by this point. It made it hard for her to regain consciousness. She regained some consciousness just in time to see Tom's feet coming towards her. She tried to get up, but couldn't. The boys had returned every bit of punishment she had dealt to them earlier and then some. Tom then hoisted his clawed hand up and cocked his arm back. His hand seemed to be aimed directly at the back of Naomi's exposed neck. "No! If he hits her there, he'll kill her for sure!" Roxy thought. Just as he fired his attack, Roxy jumped in front of Naomi. Tom, recognizing Roxy to some extent, stopped his attack dead cold, a mere inch from Roxy's face. "No Tom! Don't do this! I know what she's done but, killing her isn't going to bring Andy back and it won't make you feel any better. Please Tom, this isn't you! I don't know what's happened to you, but this is not the real you. Please, don't become the one thing you told me you despise more than anything! Don't be a killer!" By this time, Nikki and Holly were in front of their respective new munks boys and were saying similar things to them. They were also hugging them. Roxy joined her sisters and wrapped Tom in a tight hug. " Please, Tom, come back." Tom's arm lowered at these words. Roxy watched as Tom returned to normal. " Ugh... Roxy?" "That's right, Tommy. It's me." " Man, did you get the number of that bus that hit me?"

New munks

Protector

" Jesus, what happened to her?" Tony asked. By this point, Holly and Nikki had managed to return Ben and Tony back to normal. " Um, you did." Nikki said. 'Me?" "Well, you and Tom and Ben altogether." " You sprouted fangs and claws and beat the living crap out of her." Holly said. " Claws and fangs..." Tony said muttered. 'What was that anyways?" Nikki asked. "Something that should stay buried." Tony said. "What?" "Nothing. Forget about it. Um, we should probably call the cops." " Let us." They heard. They looked up to see Cash and the rest of the parental munks coming towards them. Cash was rubbing his left cheek. "Damn, that bastard was faster and stronger than he looked." Cash said. " So, what happened?" Alvin asked. Tom told them what happened. At least, everything he remembered, since the change causes the munk it's happening to black out and be completely unaware of what his or her darker side is doing until returning to normal. " Alright, I see. Simon, go call Eric. Tell him we caught one and have him bring an ambulance." Cash said. "Right." " Jeanette, I don't know what with but, try to treat her wounds a bit." "Okay." "I'll help her." Katrina said. Katrina's medical knowledge was specialized in treating for poison. She had even learned how to treat a venomous spider bite, in case there was ever a repeat of what had happened to Jeanette years ago. This was not to say, however, that she didn't know a few things about treating wounds. Jeanette had the most expertise in this field, but Katrina could help a bit. As they got to work, Cash looked at his son and nephews. " Go sit over there and rest guys. I know how you feel right now. Go lay down or something." The boys nodded and staggered away. Cash went to examine the extent of the damage done to Naomi, and also to see if he could get anything out of her. Unfortunately, she had lost consciousness again. " I don't get it." Roxy said, looking at Tom. Eleanor was close enough to hear her. " Don't get what?" She asked the younger munk. " well, Tom. And his cousins. I mean, they were just, I don't know what you'd call them, uh, monsters I guess, but now they're fine. What was that?" "We call it the dark munk power." 'Dark munk?" "Yeah. It sees to only be in our family. We've found that, when we grow sufficiently angry and stressed, we, as Alvin would put it, 'hulk out'. Claws sprout from our fingers and our canine teeth slide farther out of gums in order to become fangs. Finally, our pupils dilate and then the change is complete. And like Doctor banner becoming the hulk, we become very strong and very fast. But also, just like how banner has no idea what the hulk does, we don't know what the dark munks do until we return to normal. The dark munks are basically our wild sides, that get released we get angry enough. Simon believes that it's a genetic throw back to our normal chipmunk ancestors, who would have had claws and fangs. A genetic throwback, that put to work to as last, ditch effort kind of defense mechanism." "I see." "But don't think bad of them for that. Because, well, don't you know they got so mad in first place?" "I was so shocked by it happening that I didn't pay attention to why." " I t was because Naomi over there threatened to kill you and your sisters. You should by now, Roxy, Tom's crazy about you. And Tony and that son of mine are crazy about Nikki and Holly. They'd do anything to protect you. And that's what the power of the dark munks normally gets used for. It's to help us protect someone precious to us." "So, They changed, to protect us?" Holly asked. "That's right. They love you, girls, and they're willing to give their all to protect you. And so you know, the night after first time they me and the others change, they had nightmares about their darker selves consuming them. So, in essence, they gave in to a power that scares them, in order to protect you." "I see." Nikki said. "Oh, and one more thing.' "What?" " I hope they never have to change again, but if they do, keep this in mind. You know how Betty Ross was able to calm the hulk down and turn him back into Banner?" "Yeah." "Well, same deal here. If someone they love shows them love, then they calm down and turn back to normal. You can do that through a hug or kiss or whatever. So long as you show them you care, it has a calming effect and turns them back." Eleanor then walked off to talk with Eric, who had just arrived. Roxy and her sisters walked over to Tom and the guys. 'Tom?" "Get away from me Roxy. I'm dangerous. I'm a monster. I don't how to control that thing you saw. I could change again, and I could hurt you. And I don't wanna do that." Roxy ignored what tom said and sat down right beside him. She threw her arm around him. " No way am I gonna do that. What kind of girlfriend would I be if I left you like this? So you turned into an monster and beat the crap outta queen bitch over there, so what? You saved my life, Tom. And Nikki and Holly's too. Remember, she was gonna kill us. Snap our necks or something. If you hadn't changed, I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Your aunt explained what that changed is and what it's used for. You changed to protect me, right? You got so mad at that idea of her killing me, that you just exploded into that other you and beat her up?" "Well, yeah, I guess. I just couldn't stand that idea. So many different horrible thoughts went through my mind, and I couldn't stand it. I guess it pushed me too far." "Well, there you go. You changed in order to protect me, just like Ben and Tony changed to protect Holly and Nikki. Don't you get it? Your power may be dark and evil looking, but it doesn't make you a monster. It makes you a hero. An out of control hero, sure, but a hero none the less. And, I love it when your being heroic. I love you, Tom. After all you've done for, all the pain you've suffered through, I'd worse than scum to leave you now. Remember, I said I was gonna marry you, and I'm still planning on it. I'm gonna be Mrs. Roxanne Seville when we grow up. And this is something we'll work around. I mean, I'm sure, by the way your aunt was talking, that your dad can do it too, right?" "Him and mom both." "Right, and do you see them breaking up? It seems like they're still very much in love to me. If they can live with this, and still love each other, then so can we." Roxy said, kissing Tom's cheek, which coaxed out a quarter smile. " And besides, your aunt basically said that only someone you love and who loves you back can turn you back to normal? Well, what are you gonna do if none of your family are around? You need me to keep you under control. So, here's the deal. You be my protector, and I'll be your failsafe. Okay?" "Yeah, Okay." ' Then smile a little. Look at what you've accomplished. The people responsible for Andy's death, there were two of them right? And she was one of them? Well, looks like your half way there now. Half way done avenging Andy. She's gonna go jail and pay for what she's done, and I'm sure your gonna catch the other one too. I'll be right beside you." tom nodded and smiled. " Thanks, Rox. You know exactly what to say." "That's my job."


	134. Chapter 134

New munks

Return of the originals

" Well, that's one down.' Alvin said. The munks were just leaving the police precinct Naomi had been taken too. They wanted to get some information out of her. Primarily, they wanted to know where to find Sean. But, Naomi remained tight lipped. That is while she was still conscious. She was still woozy from the blood loss, and it caused her to continuously slip in and out of consciousness. But, despite that, it was still obvious that her body was already recovering. Her periods of consciousness were getting longer each time. And this honestly surprised Cash. Even with his accelerated metabolism, and thus accelerated healing factor, it would have taken him at least a day to really begin recovering from battle like that. And he was sure that he would have been completely out of it for more than half of that day. He couldn't help but recall what Tom and the others had told him she said. That she wasn't sure whether or not she was even human still. And considering how fast she was recovering, he was beginning to wonder that himself. " What is she exactly? Some kind of real world, female Wolverine? Is that? Is she a mutant? Wait a second. Did I really just think that? Man, Katrina's right. I do think too much. Dear God, I must be spending too much time around Simon. Or Alvin, one. One or the other. But still. That super speed the kids told me she had, and that really fast healing rate. There's no way that I can think of that explains that. I got to find out where she got these powers. That way, I know what to expect from her brother. Yup, logic definitely dictates that, if she's this strong, then her brother must be even stronger. Wait. Logic dictates? Yup, definitely Simon I'm spending too much time around. But still, I can't help but wonder, which brother? There were three, and the kids said that she lead the group with one of them, and lost the others. But the question is, which one of those three is the one that's still alive?" "Yeah. And that's a good thing too, right Cash?" Theodore asked. "Huh?" "Weren't you listening to what we were talkin' about?' Alvin asked. "No, not really. I was too busy thinking." " Like you stop ever stop doing that. Your spending too much time around Simon." "Alvin!" "Sorry, Sy. I couldn't resist. It was said before I even realized I was talking." " Well, alright. So long as it was an accident, I let that one slide." "Good. Cause, we don't need Eleanor to tell us off again." " Actually, it would be you she would be telling off, not us." Simon corrected. "Whatever." "So, anybody care to get up to speed on what you were talking about?" Cash asked, getting his brothers attention again. " Well.." Simon started and then proceeded to tell Cash everything, word for word, that had been said while he wasn't paying attention. "Hmm, i see." " Well, you gonna answer Theo's question now or not?" Alvin asked. " Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah, that is a good thing Theo. I just wish we could get more out of her. Like, which one of her brothers is that that's still out there?" "Yeah.' Simon agreed. 'Well, I certainly don't know who it is. But, I do know that I hope it isn't that Sean." Alvin said. "Why not?" Theodore asked. 'Theo, he was the leader of those four, remember?" "Oh, yeah. He was." " Right. And, they wouldn't put him in charge for no reason would they?" "I guess not. Yeah, now I can see what your talking about. Yeah, if it was him, we could be real trouble. Especially now that he's had time to fester." " What I don't get is why did they leave us alone for all this time? I mean, they hated our guts and still do. So, why did they let us go on with our lives in peace like that?" Simon asked. 'Who knows? I'm beginning to think that it doesn't really matter why they're doing what they're doing anymore. All that matters anymore is how. And, it wasn't exactly living in peace, Sy. We still had some rough spots. Or do I need to remind you about our friends? You know, our per.." "Ah, don't say it! "Simon said. "Huh? What's wrong with saying it? The power's gone, we can say that word all we want." "Yeah, well, just don't say it. I don't wanna chance it." " Huh, your just like Britt. You two got a lot more in common than you know. I mean, I love ya both, cause your my brother and she's my wife but, i just don't get why we can't say that word." " Because, that particular adventure, while interesting, is also embarrassing. Or do i need to remind Cash of just how much your other self wanted to beat him up?" "Hey, i got over that. If we could go back that place, and go into my part of it again, I'm sure it'd be a lot different looking." 'I'm not saying it wouldn't, Alvin. I'm just asking whether you want me remind everybody of that or not?" "Well, no." "Then don't say that word. Power or no power, i don't wanna chance those things popping out, and especially not here. I'd rather not have to explain what was going on to bunch of police. They're already looking at us a bit funny anyways." "Yeah. Wondering why we didn't come to them, instead of handling this all on our own." Theodore said. 'Shoot, i could tell them that.' Alvin said. "And what would you tell them Alvin?" Simon asked. "I'd say that handling it ourselves has always worked before and, no offense, but they take way too long to catch a suspect. I mean, you remember how long it took them to find the guy responsible for the fires on the north side?" "Uh, it took three years i think." Theodore said. 'You hear him? Three years! If we'd let them handle it all, we could all have been dead by now. Don't get me wrong, i got absolute faith in the police but, these group guys just kept getting more and more vicious. I don't think the cops could have kept up. I think it's easier for us because there's not as many of us. With all the cops, everybody ends up getting in each other's way." "You've thought this through, haven't you Alvin?" Simon asked. "A little." Cash, meanwhile, was wondering when the other Franklin sibling would strike. " I just hope we're ready." He thought. He then said " Well, no point in just standing here. Let's go home guys. The girls and everybody else are waiting for us." "Yeah, good point. Let's get going." Meanwhile, at the group's base. " I'm getting worried about Naomi. It shouldn't have taken her this long. When is she going to call in?" Sean asked himself. 'Having problems?" Sean spun around to see who was talking. "You!" There stood the original two leaders of the group, with a man he didn't recognize." Perfect. Your back. Man, your the last thing I need right now." " And we missed you too, Sean." The male lead said. " Whatever.' "Come on now, Sean. We really did miss you. I particularly missed your 'playful' banter with my brother here. " "Again, whatever. I've got to more to worry about right now." 'Well, tell us what's wrong, Sean. We don't like seeing you upset." The female lead said. "If you don't like seeing me upset, why did you turn me into a freak!?" " Because we needed your help. And, we didn't think you were in any condition to agree consciously at the time, so had to force you. But, as we took care of you, you became like a son to us." " More like a pet." Sean said. "Regardless of what you call it, we did take care of you and Naomi. So, we grew to care about you a bit. We're very strict 'parents' yes, but still we care. So, what's the matter 'son'?" The female lead said. "Call me your son again and I'll break you in half, no matter how many times you press that shock button." " Yes, yes, we know. But still, we wanna know what's wrong." Sean groaned a little but preceded to tell her what was going on. " I see. Well, first, you need to relax."

New munks

Cruelty and manipulation

" Relax!? How am I supposed to relax?! My only sister s missing, and you want me to relax!?" "Brother." The female lead said cooly. The male lead pressed a button on his gauntlet and Sean was shocked into submission. "Mr. Culler, if you would." The male lead then said to the other man. The hypnotist, that had served the group before, walked up to Sean and began to hypnotize Sean. Once sean was under, Mr. Culler said " There. Now then, what do you want him to do?" "I know. I believe that Naomi was defeated and arrested. Why else wouldn't she have returned by now? So, We need to get rid of Naomi, since she's a liability now after all. But, we can't risk being caught on camera, the police would recognize us. So I say, we have Sean visit Naomi in jail. And..." The female lead reached over and removed her gauntlet, which was remotely connected to Naomi's power up system. "What the.." "Trust me, brother. We'll get it back." "Alright. As long as you promise." "And I do. Now, as I was saying, we have Sean visit Naomi in Jail, while still under our hypnotic control, and deliver her death sentence." "Ah, Yes, that would work." The male lead said. "I'm not finished brother. A After doing away with Naomi, Mr. Culler I want you to have him come back here. I'll reveal the rest of my plan then. Oh, and him say he's her friend and he's come to see her before going to post bail in order to get to her in the first place. And give him a fake name too. And, you probably should have him wear rubber gloves, so he can muffle Naomi's screams of pain and not get chocked in the process. Understood?" "Yeah, I got it. And I suppose you want me to be his driver?" "Well, you do have to remain nearby for your mind control to work, correct? It's range is not indeffint, unlike your post-hypnotic suggestions." "That is true. Very well then. Now, come along, Sean. We have to do as your 'parents' want us to." "Yes sir." Sean said, sounding like a zombie. "You've gotta admire how far his pyschic powers have evolved, eh sister?" "Yes, I love how far he's come. Say, you ever wonder why he doesn't become a professional hypnotist, instead hiring himself out to people like us?' "Yes, and I asked him. He said there was more money in doing this." 'Do you think one day his mind control will be strong enough for him to become like those pyschic super villains in the comic books?' "I don't know for sure, but I doubt it. Controlling all those people seems like a real hassle and, though he likes the money, Mr. Culler hates to do a lot of work." "So the only reason the world is safe from him.." "Is because of his own laziness, that's right. And he says bank robberies are too much of a hassle to, even if he was using the very guards of the vault to do it." "I see." Later. "Excuse, officer. I'm here to see Naomi Franklin. I wanna talk to her before I post bail or take her into my custody or whatever." Sean said to the officer on duty. "Well, i don't know about her bail or anything, but I suppose it wouldn't hurt for you to go see her. But, one question. Who are you?" "I'm a friend of hers. My name is John Morrison." "Okay John. Go on in. She's in cell thirteen, the one in the back." A moment later. " Naomi." "Ah, Sean! Great, your here! Get me out of here.' "No." "What?" "You failed the cause Naomi. You will never leave here, not alive anyways." "What?!" Sean then made a move for the gauntlet on his left arm. " That thing, that's.." Naomi was cut off when Sean pressed the kill switch. Then, his hand shot out and covered her mouth as she was over come by the powerful electrical shock ripping through her body. Finally, she stopped moving altogether and her eyes rolled up in the back of her head. When Sean released his grip, her lifeless body fell to the floor. Sean was then mentally commanded to leave by Mr. Culler, who didn't even bother to have him say goodbye to the officer on duty. "Well, that was quick." The officer in charge said to himself. " Well, it's just a half hour until my shift is over. I'd better go take a look around the place before I have to go." When he came upon Naomi's body all he could say was "What the Hell?!" He then rushed to get inside the cell and then pulled out his phone to call the chief. " Hello?" "Eric answered. "Sir, I'm Officer Jenkins, at the county jail. You know, where you moved Ms. Franklin?" "Yes." "Well Sir, there's been an incident." "What happened?" "I don't exactly. But, i think, I'm no paramedic but, I think Ms. Franklin is dead." "What?! She's dead?!" "Yeah, i think so." "How?! How did she die?!" "I don't know. It must have been that John guy that did though." "Who are you talking about?!" "He said his name was John. John Morrison. He said he was a friend of her's and he came to see her, before he posted bail for her." "You idiot! Bail was never made an option for her!" "Well, i didn't know sir. I'm just a jail guard officer, so nobody tells me a whole lot of anything." "Right, sorry for loosing my temper. But, please, tell me what else happened." "Well, he went in to see her, and came back out about five, maybe ten minutes later. When he left, it was nearing the end of my shift, so I thought I should go look around before the next guy showed up. And I found her this way." "So your in the cell with her?" "Yes sir." 'Can you tell me the cause of death just by looking at her?" "No sir. Like I said, I'm no paramedic, so I can't tell you the C.O.D. But, I can say that she's got some odd burn-like marks. I've never seen these kinds of burns. Strangest thing though, they seem to be almost entirely isolated to her legs. She's got a few here and there on her body but, mostly it's on her legs. Ugh." "What?" "I just moved her a little, to examine those burns on the other parts of her body, and her mouth fell open. Ugh man, that smell comin' out of her mouth, ugh, it's like, it's like something nasty is in her stomach. And man, there's a heat behind it. Ugj, like that nasty thing has been cooked. Ugh man, curse my weak stomach. Man this is why I took this postion, so I wouldn't have to deal with this crap. Oh man, I think I'm gonna puke." "First time you've ever dealt with a dead body?' 'Yes!" " Alright, get out of there, before you contaminate the scene. When you get your composure back, make sure to stick around and let the paramedics and other officers I'll be sending down in." "Yes sir." Eric hung up the phone. "Oh man." "Eric?" Katherine Samson had just shown up. Eric had called on her earlier, to go over the test results on the blood one more time. He wanted to know if she had discovered anything that could be beneficial to the case. " Katherine. Man, you couldn't have timed yourself better. Listen, there's been an incident." " What happened?' " Naomi Franklin, she's dead." ' What?! Dead?!" "Yes. As far as I know, she's been killed." 'By who?!" "The officer on duty at the county jail we sent her too said a man named John Morrison came to visit her and he's the last one to see her alive. So, he's the most likely suspect." "Man. Well, I guess we should call the guys huh?" "Yeah, they'd wanna know. But, I'll do that. You go do your CSI duties and investigate the scene. Here's the location." "Alright, I'm on it. And, when it comes to calling the guys, good luck explaining it to them." "Yeah, thanks. I'm gonna need it." Meanwhile. "Alright, Mr. Culler. Here's your pay. You can leave as soon as you snap him out of it." "Alright." A few moments later. 'What happened?" "We had Mr. Culler put you in a hypnotic trance, so you could relax, like we said you needed to. We, meanwhile, went to find out what happend to Naomi.' "And?" "I'm so sorry, Sean. Naomi, she's dead." "What?!" "I don't know how but, the munks killed her. I guess they got to her before she could kill the kids." ' Damn it! Those rodent bastards! They've taken everything from me now! I'm gonna slaughter them!" "Not right now, Sean. You should rest first. That way, you'll be full of energy and more than ready to take them out." The male lead said. ' That's the first thing you've ever said that I liked the sound of. Goodnight. Just you wait, you freaks of nature, tomorrow I'm gonna send you to hell where you belong." As soon as Sean was out of earshot, the female lead began to laugh. "Oh, that went perfectly. That went exactly as I thought it would." "Okay, now I'm a bit confused. Explain your plan, sister." "Very well. You see, we both know that we had to get rid of Naomi, lest she reveal anything about us or our plan. And as you know, our gauntlets have an unfortunate range of effectiveness limit. So, we'd have to be very close to her in order for it to work. And to get that close, we'd have to go to the jail ourselves and that would mean being caught on camera or worse, captured again. So, part one was using Mister Culler to hypnotize Sean into doing it for us. Originally, I, as well as you, had planned to use Mr. Culler only to help us force Sean into forfiting the leadership role. But, when I put together everything Sean told us, and came to the conclusion that Naomi had been arrested, I came up with this plan." " Okay. But, you said earlier that we'd find out what the rest of your plan was later. What about that part?" "That part is going on right now. I intended to frame the munks for Naomi's murder, that way Sean would be madder than he ever has been. That way, he can go into battle tomorrow, with both his incredible rage and his power up system strengthening him. And all that means only one thing." "What's that?" " Well, You know, thanks to Ian and Claus and Claudia's reports, that the chipmunks are capable of transforming into incredibly powerful versions of themselves. I believe Ian called those forms their 'super chipmunk; forms." " Right." 'Well, with Sean in this condition, he'll surely push them to the point that they change and then only one thing can happen." "And what is that? Spit it out already." "Sean and the chipmunks will kill each other. Sean will smash into the ground and beat them to death, but not before, I'm sure, they manage to inflict mortal injuries on him. But I'm not saying that chipmunks couldn't be the ones to kill him first, but they'd die from their injuries. But either way, both parties will die. And so, all of our problems will be wrapped up. The chipmunks will no longer be a concern and Sean will not be able to make good on his promise to kill us." " But what if the chipmunks manage to defeat Sean and survive?" "You always have to bring that up don't you?" "Well, they have proven, time and again, that they are more than capable of getting out of a tight scrape." "Hmm, I suppose that's true. But, even if they survive, they still won't be a problem to us anymore. They believe that Sean and Naomi are the leaders of the group. And, with both of them dead, they'd think that the group will lose strength and become nothing to worry about. I mean, let's face it, those four could never pull anything major off without our help. And so, with the 'leaders' dead, the group would become nothing to worry about. And so, they'd go on with their lives, and ignore anything else we'd do, writing it off as everyday crime." "Good point. But, they would have no choice but to find out what we are up to once we in act our plan and take over Hollywood. Do you think they'd get involved then?" "Brother, by then, with as much as we've done to make this plan a success, do you really think they'd be able to stop us?" "Hmm, you have a point, sister." "Right. Now, let's go prepare the final stages of our plan."


	135. Chapter 135

New Munks

Power increase

"Okay, guys. Here's my findings. And remember now. What's in this report instant supposed to be seen by civilian eyes. I'm doing you a big favor here so.." "So don't say anything about this or you could lose your job. Yeah, we know, Katherine. Don't worry. Our lips our sealed. Now, unseal that envelope." Alvin said. " Okay then." Today, a mere day and a half until Ben's eighth birthday, the munks were at Xavier's, hearing the results of Katherine and her coroner friend's autopsy of Naomi Franklin's corpse, which was performed yesterday. Also yesterday, the male lead had gotten an idea. Ever airing on the side of 'what if', the male lead wondered what would happen if the munks couldn't kill or at least incapacitate Sean. Knowing how determined, and crafty, Sean was, he wondered if he could make due on his promise to kill he and his sister, despite their ability to strike him down with the press of a button. The male lead knew Sean knew how much power they had over him and, as such, would not go for the direct approach when it came to killing them. He'd find a way to get to them, before they would ever have the chance to press the 'kill switch' on their gauntlets. So, he figured that he needed to find a way to make sure that Sean would die no matter what in the battle to come. He couldn't just press the button right after Sean killed the last munk, for there was no guarantying that he wouldn't fall to the munks. But, even if Sean didn't die, the male lead still wouldn't kill him straight after that fight. Because, to him and his sister both, that way was just too boring of an ending. Then, he thought about weakening Sean somehow. He couldn't calm him down, no way in hell. So, getting rid of his anger was out of the question. He could try decreasing the power percentage of Sean's power up, 'super strength' system, but that would make the fight with the munks boring and one sided. Then, it finally hit him. Don't decrease the power, increase it. The set parameters on the system now where programmed for Sean's own good by Dr. Clyde Crashcup, still being held prisoner in the group's base's basement. But, with a little 'coaxing', Clyde could change that. Now, he knew that the power supply for the system, a very high powered battery, would only provide power for twenty minutes after activation. And he knew that they couldn't get their hands on something that could allow for more time soon enough. But, that didn't matter. The battery already in place was more than enough. Though it's charge only lasted twenty minutes, the parameters were in place not only to keep Sean from overloading himself with his own power, but also so that the battery couldn't be completely drained. After all, that battery had been a pain to get in the first place, and they didn't want to use it all up on the first use. But, if that precaution was thrown out the window, then the fullest charge of the system would be released and, sooner or later, it would overload the system, possibly cause some of the system's pieces to explode inside Sean's arms, and more than likely kill Sean himself as a result of the extensive internal damage. And so, with this cruel idea in mind, the male lead went about talking Sean into allowing them to perform a quick surgery on him in order to take out those precautions. He told Sean that the previous warning they had given him was a lie. They limited him and Naomi, so that they could keep them under control. But, he said that they 'felt sorry for him' and they felt like, since it was technically their fault, they should help him get his revenge in anyway they could. Not being in his right mind, Sean believed this full-faced lie and allowed them to commence with the surgery. Tomorrow, thanks to a combination of his own quick healing factor and the fact that it was not a very extensive procedure, Sean would be ready to take on the munks. 'Alright, here we go." Katherine opened the envelope and began explaining the report. " Well, first off, Naomi's cause of death of coronary arrest, due to a prolonged and pretty massive electrical shock. Following the obvious evidence, I came to the conclusion that the shock originated from her legs. Now, you may wonder, what in the world shocked her in the first place? The answer is in these pictures." Katherine handed the pictures to Alvin and he and Brittany looked at them before passing them on down the line to the other munks. "What the heck are those things, Kathy?' Eleanor asked. 'That's a good question, Ely. The answer: they're stimulation machines." "Stimulation? Wow, talk about going to extremes for 'personal gratification'." Alvin said. "No, not that kind of stimulation, Alvin. These machines were wired into the muscles of her legs. I do believe that they, once activated by this wireless device here on her wrist, would stimulate her leg muscles until she was able to move at that supposed 'super speed' the kids talked about. Speaking of them, where are they?" " In the game room. Can't you hear the TV blasting?" Katrina asked. "Oh yeah. Now I can. That's a good thing too. These pictures are pretty graphic. Don't wanna scare them." " I don't think it would scare them, as much as it would sicken them." Cash said. "Yeah. It's a good thing none of us have eaten yet." Katherine said. " Now, back to business. Those machines, I believe, just by looking at how they were attached to her and how they vibrated somewhat when I fiddled with the device that was attached to her wrist, are the source of her super speed power." " I see. That explains it." Cash said. " Mechanical assistance." Simon said. "And you mentioned something about her healing factor?" "Yeah." Cash said. "Well, I think I found the reason for that too. I found beneficial bacteria in her blood stream. A ton of them. They were attached to her red and white blood cells. I've never seen this type of bacteria before, though my coroner friend I was working with on this said she had seen them in a book, but couldn't place their name off hand." "Okay. That makes sense. Wish she could've remembered the name though." Simon said. "Yes, me too. But, I'm not done." "There's more?" Alvin asked. "Yes, and this one is rather disturbing." "What is it?" Theodore asked. "Well, in her legs, near where those stimulation devices where placed, I found muscle fibers that, and I don't know why, just didn't seem to belong. I guess it was because they were abnormally big, compared to the rest of leg muscles. And it looked as though they were just crammed inside her body. So, I took a couple 'cords', if you will, of them and tested them. The results disgusted me, and I've seen some pretty messed up stuff on this job." "What did the results reveal?" Simon asked. "well, they reveal that the fibers I took out, were male muscle fibers. And, before you ask, I can assure you that Naomi was all woman. I saw all of her body. I guarantee you, she was born and died a woman." "Okay then, well how did the fibers get there?" Cash asked. "Well, I'm not quite sure. But, I do know who the fibers really belong to." "Who?" "I ran them through a special edition of CODIS, and it came back Leon Franklin." "Wait, she had her brother's leg muscles in her body!?" Jeanette cried. "Yes. And that's really messed up, I know. But it leads me to two theories." "What are they?" Theodore said, trying to help Eleanor regain her composure, as she was now gagging. "Well, one, I believe that Leon, is dead. These fibers showed signs of, basically, freezer burn. Like they'd been frozen for some time. Now, you just don't get working muscle fibers out of person and freeze them, unless the person is already dead. My second theory is why they were there. Naomi had some scars on her that looked very old. Like, a little over a decade old." "The injuries she got when the base exploded!" Simon said. "Yes, that's what I was thinking. I believe that these fibers were used to repair damage done to Naomi legs after your last battle with them. From what you guys told me you remember about her and her siblings was that her and Leon were the same height. So, though a little big, his muscle fibers would be make for the perfect 'band-aid', if you will. And, putting myself in her shoes from back then, I believe she would have said 'he's not using them anymore.' And so, that explains that." The munks looked at each other. Then Alvin shouted "What the hell is wrong with these people!" " I don't know. But, what I do know is that they've used their dead siblings tissues to repair damages done their bodies, and then upgrade themselves with these devices. All just so that they could one day get revenge on you guys. So, I know I don't really need to say this, but I will to make my own mind rest a little easy. Please, be as careful as you can when the time to deal with the last Franklin comes. Cause, obviously, he's completely insane! I know I can't talk you out fighting him, but let me give you some advice. Take him out fast! Don't try to talk, don't try to reason with him." 'Not like we could. The guy blames us for his father killing himself. Hell, he might even blame us for Naomi's death, though his own group are obviously the real culprits." Alvin said. "Exactly! So, please, just take him down and bring him to jail." "We will, Kathy. And thanks for being concerned about us. I promise, we'll keep our guards way up, and we won't hesitate to take him down when the time comes." Cash said. "You know, maybe you should kill him. Cause I'm afraid that your not gonna be able to beat him any other way." "we're not killers, Kathy." "But.." "We'll find a way. But, I thank you for your concern." "Very well. Just be careful on how you handle it. I've known you guys for so long that,, that it, that it'd kill me if something happened to you. I just love you guys so much." "We love you too, Kath. Don't worry, we'll find a way to come out on top." "Alright, but I'm gonna be prayin' really hard." "You won't be the only one. We've got at least twenty other people prayin' for us." Theodore said. Eleanor, having regained her composure, walked over and put her hand on her crying friend's shoulder. "Just have a little faith, Kath. I mean, we all know that, when a lot of people pray for the same thing, it's gonna happen. So, join the crowd, and I'm sure that God will hear the prayer. I'm sure, with all these prayers, God will see us through and help us find the way to win." "Okay. But, you pray too though!" "Believe me, we are. We're praying harder than you can imagine." Brittany said.


	136. Chapter 136

New munks

A storm with no calm

The next day. "Alright, it's time to end this." Sean said, readying to leave for the, in his mind at least, the most important fight of his life. Clyde ran down the hall, trying to catch him in time. "Wait young man. I really think you should rest a little more. I know you heal quickly, but.." Sean's hand shot out and grabbed Clyde's throat. " Listen to me, you pathetic excuse old man! I have waited too damn long already! I'm going, and nobody, especially not you, is going to stop me." Sean then released Clyde. " But..." Clyde coughed. " I don't wanna hear it! Now shut up before I bash your head into that wall!" Clyde, not wanting to be the first on Sean's list of deaths today, shut his mouth. Sean approached the door and then looked back at Clyde. " If you have any fond memories of those rodent bastards, better start reliving them, cause you won't be making anymore after today!" Sean then left. Clyde shook his head. "That poor young man. If only he knew how little time he has." Clyde looked down at his hands. "These hands. They've helped sign his death warrant. I wish I could do something, but those monsters that call themselves human are watching me all the time. Please, God. Forgive me for what I've done and protect the chipmunks. Give them the strength to survive this battle, for I fear it's already too late for Mr. Franklin." Dr. Crashcup then sensed a presence behind him. He looked up to see the leaders looking down at him. " I.." "No, please continue your monologue doctor." The female lead said. "Please, elaborate on your monster comment. If we're monsters, then what kind are we exactly? You know, I've always wondered what it would be like to be a vampire or something like that." She continued. Clyde kept quiet. "Fine, be that way. Take him back to his work area. He's got a little more work to do before today is over." "Yes, ma'am." said the nearby henchmen she was talking to. They picked up Clyde and carried him off. The female lead then looked to her brother. "Well, today is the day. Today the munks and Sean both die." "Well, I wouldn't sound so sure, sister. Sean will die no matter what but, we can't be sure whether or not the chipmunks will survive." "Do you really think the munks can win?" "Well, you have to think about it sister. Sean is powerful, but he's alone. The chipmunks are strong, use great tactics and work well as a team. In fact, they are nearly unstoppable if they work together as best they can. Only thanks to the careful planning and extreme measures we've taken to make our plan a success can we best them." "Yes, yes. Your a chipmunks fan, I get it." "No, I'm not a fan of theirs. But I do respect their tenacity, as should you. They've proven to be worthy players in this little game of ours." "Why didn't you call them 'worthy adversaries' or 'worthy opponents' or something like that?" "Do you really need to ask that question, sister? Did you forget or something? In the end, though they are fun to play with, the chipmunks are just another group of pawns in our grand scheme." 'Ah, yes. That makes sense then. But, I still think the chipmunks will die first." "You sound so sure." 'I am. In fact, I'd stake money on it." 'Really? How much do you have on you?" The female lead reached into her pocket and pulled out a bill. "Twenty bucks." The male lead opened his wallet. He had ten more dollars than his sister. "I have twenty bucks to spare too. So, care to make a little wager?" "On this battle?" "Of course. I bet you twenty dollars that the munks will come out on top." "Alright. I'll take that bet. I'll stake my money on Sean being the victor." "Then it's a bet." "You'll regret this, brother. Ah, I can already taste that sushi I'm going order with your twenty dollars." 'Hmph, enjoy your fantasy sister. I, meanwhile, have to get a bottle of barbeque sauce ready for that steak I'm going to buy with the money I make off you."

Meanwhile. "Alright. The kids are up and dressed and breakfast is cooking away on the griddle. Just make sure to flip those pancakes in about five minutes, or they'll burn. Then let them cook for another ten on the other side before you serve them." Katrina said. "Got it, honey." Cash said. "Alright. I'm off to the salon with the girls." 'Alright. I'll see you later. And, Kate, please, be careful. Watch your back. That other Franklin kid is still out there." "I understand. I'll keep my guard up and my eyes peeled." "Good." "Alright. I gotta go. Bye." 'Bye." 'I love you." ' I love you too." One minute later. "Ah, man. Is mom already gone?" Cash heard. He turned around to see his kids standing there, looking at him inquisitively. "Well?" Helen pressed. "Yeah. she just left." 'Ah, man. I wanted to give her a goodbye hug this time." Cash rubbed his daughter's head. " Don't worry, baby. She'll be home soon enough. You can hug her then." " Well, okay. Say, when do you think mom will let me come with her to the salon?" 'When she thinks your old enough." "huh?' "You see, Nell. There's an unspoken understanding between parents. The dad is supposed to teach his son certain things, and the mother is supposed to do the same for the daughter. This expands to include the places the parents take their kids. In short, it's up to your mother to decide when you can come with her to the salon." "Okay but, if you had to guess, when do you think she might chose to take me?" "Well, I can't give you an exact age but, maybe, she might take you if your hair reached over your shoulders." Helen grabbed a lock of her hair and looked at it. "But, considering my hair's usual growth rate, and how short it was cut the last I got a hair cut, that'll take at least three months." " Well, you'll just have to be patient. Now, who wants pancakes?" "I do. I'm starving." Tom said. Helen looked at the door her mother had just walked out of. "Something doesn't feel right. Please, mom, be careful." She thought before going to join her father and brother. One hour later. "Well, we're good for another week." Brittany said, pushing up on her freshly done up hair. " Yeah, they do good work." Katrina agreed. They had reached Brittany's car when Katrina suddenly stopped. " What is it, sis?" Brittany asked. " I sense something. Something, dark." " Okay, Kate, you can stop now. Your scaring me." Eleanor said. " Sorry. It's just feeling, but it's nagging at me. Something is wrong." "Well, we'll just have to keep our eyes open." Brittany said. "There they are." Sean said to himself as he wandered into the parking lot. With his anger clouding his mind, Sean had not thought to go to the munks houses to find them. As such he had been wandering around trying to find them. He had just so happened to wonder past the salon's parking lot and spotted the mother munks. He activated his power up system, while saying 'You rodent bitches are mine." He chased after them and grabbed the back of the car. "What the hell?" Brittany said. "Holy crap!" Katrina called as she saw Sean holding onto the car. "Brittany, floor it!" "What do you think I'm doing?!" "Your flooring it and he's still holding us in place?!" 'What the hell is this guy?!" Eleanor asked. "Chipmunks!" Sean roared. The girls recognized the voice. It sounded older, but they recognized it. "Oh Shit!" Brittany said. " It's Sean Franklin!" "Damn it, the last one would have to be him!" Katrina said. "Britt, put it in reverse!" Jeanette called. "Good idea!" Brittany shifted into reverse and plowed into Sean. "Now get us out of here!" Eleanor yelled.

New munks

Rise of the queens

" Is he still following us?!" Brittany called. "Oh yeah!" Eleanor said. They were hoping to get back to their neighborhood, but with Sean on their tail, that seemed less and less likely as the chase went on. "Damn! What do we have to do to ditch this guy!?" "I hate to say it but, I think we're going to have to fight him, girls." Katrina said. "I was hoping we could get home first, so we could have back up, but it looks like we're not gonna get that chance. Let's do it." Brittany said. 'Couldn't we just run him over again or something?" Eleanor asked, a little leery of fighting such an obviously strong enemy. "Ely, when we tried that earlier, I drove this thing backward as fast as it would go, and it didn't take him. Face it, this requires a bit more personal touch." "We have to fight him, Ely. We owe it to everyone to this one, and give them a break.. I mean, all the fighting is left up to the guys. Heck, even our own kids have more fights under their belts than we do. But, they deserve rest. So, it's our turn. And besides, there's four of us and only one of him. How hard can it be to beat him?" Katrina said. " Well, I guess your right. we should give them a break and take this one ourselves. Alright, let's do it." The girls swung off into a familiar parking lot. " The label. Perfect. We've got home field advantage." Brittany said. Todd just so happened to be leaving the label. "Huh? Oh, hi girls. What are you doing here?" "Go back inside, Todd!" Katrina called. "Why?" "See that guy over there?" "Yeah.." 'He's the last leader of the group!" "The leader of the group! I'll go call the others. Can you hold him off?" "That's our plan. Get moving!" Brittany said. "Right." Todd ran back inside. "Let's try to end this as soon as we can. Kate!" "Right!" Katrina stuck her hand out. "Mind break!" Katrina said as she activated her version of her and her daughter's shared technique. But, Sean's mind was in such a state that it forced her back. "Ugh!" "Kate!" "I'm alright. It's just, there's so much anger coming from him that, when I tried to link my mind with his to perform the mind break, it hit me like a brick to the head." Katrina shook off the effects of the mind break reversal. " So, you can't cripple him with your powers?" Jeanette asked. "No. I can't use any of my powers. I can't make a connection with out being mentally smacked by al that anger floating around in his head." "Ah, great. Guess this means that we do it the old fashioned way." Brittany said, cracking her knuckles. "You!" Sean said. " I've been waiting for this. After our last encounter, all I had left was Naomi. And you took her from me! You freaks killed her!" "What the hell are you talking about? Your own group killed her! Our kids beat her, yeah, but none of us had anything to do with her death!" Brittany shouted. "Lies! You are nothing but murderers! Your the ones who've killed every member of my family!" "Okay. I've said that your crazy before, but now I know. Your not crazy, your completely insane! Your father killed himself and your the one who killed all your siblings! You set off that explosion that killed your brothers!" "Which would never have happened if you freaks could just die quietly!" "So, to you, it's our fault!? Well, excuse us for wanting to live!" " Yeah! You can blame us for your father's and brothers' deaths all you want, but we had nothing to do with it. Just like we had nothing to do with Naomi's death." Eleanor said. "You liars! Every word you say is a lie!" 'We're a lot of things, but we're not liars!" Jeanette said. "Arg! Every word you say is like nails on a chalk board to me! That's it, I'm going to shut your lying, murdering mouths once and for all!" Sean then attacked. "Everybody move!" The girls jumped out of the way. However, Jeanette didn't jump far enough. Sean grabbed her leg and squeezed. "Agh!" Jeanette cried in pain. " Let go of her!" Brittany said, punching Sean in the ribs. Sean ignored this and retaliated by swinging Jeanette like a living bat into her sister. Eleanor and Katrina then got involved. They both kicked Sean in the ribs and caused him to double over somewhat. As they prepared to club him to the ground, he shot his hands up and grabbed them by the crest of their foreheads. He then slammed their heads together and threw into Jeanette and Brittany, who were just getting up. This beating continued for ten minutes. The girls put up a valiant fight, but they weren't strong enough to best Sean. Eventually, the girls laid in front of Sean, struggling to get up. Sean rubbed his arms, as his power system was beginning to over load. He had five minutes left. If he didn't manually shut down the system before then, the system would get over worked, break down and eventually explode inside Sean's arms, doing considerable internal damage and killing him. This is exactly what the male lead planned on happening. Of course, Sean didn't know this. All he was focused on was delivering the killing blow to the girls. "One last attack. That's all it'll take." Sean reached down and picked up Brittany by her head. " Any last words, murderer?" "Bite me." Brittany choked out. " Why was I expecting a line like that? Oh well, time to die!" "Brittany!" The girls cried. " Be quiet! I'll get to you three in a second. And once I'm done with you, I'm going to find your husbands. And your children. And your friends and family!" The girls eyes widened at this. He wasn't just going to kill them, he was planning on hunting down everyone close to them. "But I'll save my Uncle, that traitor, for last. I'll make him watch as I slaughter them all one by one." "He'll put poor Xavier through that!? That does it! No matter what, this guy has to be stopped! But how do we stop him?" The girls all thought. "You really are pathetic, you know that?" They each heard. Time in the real world seemed to slow down and the girls found themselves inside their own minds, facing down their dark munks selves. "Please, you have to help me! I have to stop this guy!" Brittany yelled at Dark Brittany. "Why should I help you? You didn't need me back in the day. You even traded me off for a while for a different power one time." "Are you mad about that? Come on! We didn't have a choice!" "Right, I'm sure." "Please. I know that you don't like being the dormant personality, but I need you. If that guy isn't stopped, he won't just kill me, he'll kill everyone I love. He'll Alvin and Eliza. He'll kill my sisters. He'll kill all I love. Please, I'm begging you! Please!" "Hmph!" "I'm sorry." " What?" "For trading you off all those years ago. I'm sorry, Okay? I'm sorry. I need you to help me, so please forgive me." "Alright, I forgive you. I kinda have to, since you are the other side of me. I can't stay mad at myself. So, I'll tell you what. I'll merge with you and give you strength to win, but you have to give me a good reason. One that I'll care about." "Other than keeping ourselves alive?" "I'm as good as dead most of the time anyway." All the girls, having similar conversation with their dark selves, thought for a moment. Then a thought dawned on them all. "A reason? Alright. Tell me, are you aware that our kids have dark sides too?" "Yeah. I'm proud of my daughter, though yours won't let her out very often." Dark Brittany said. "Well, think about this. If he kills us, he'll go after the kids. And he kills Eliza, he'll kill dark Eliza too. And you can't possibly say that you don't care about that." After hearing this, all the dark munk women said 'Alright. That's good enough. Let's do it." On the outside, the girls transformed into their dark forms, but remained in control. They had finally achieved the power of the twee-twee queens. The power of the merged state. Brittany shot her hands up and ripped at Sean's hands to make him drop her. Then, all four girls attacked Sean. Jeanette took out his legs and Eleanor leaped into the air and brought her knees down into his gut. Katrina punched him in the ribs and caused him real to one side. Brittany knocked him over. The girls continued this for the next four minutes. Sean , knowing he had a minute left, tried to punch the girls as hard as he could. Brittany and Katrina grabbed his hands and Eleanor and Jeanette acted as living supports for them. Sean pushed and pushed but couldn't budge their arms. He continued to push as hard as he could. This increased the already great strain on his system. As he shoved, the devices in his arms began to break. They cracked and sent sharp pieces of metal into the muscle and blood vessels. Even so, Sean kept pushing. So, the strain became to much for the battery and it broke under the pressure. When it broke, it exploded. This caused to enough damage to Sean to bring him down. The girls let him drop. As he left the mortal world, he muttered "Naomi." "I'm here, Sean." He heard. He looked to see Naomi's spirit reaching for him. "Naomi. I'm sorry. I failed. I couldn't avenge you." "It wasn't their fault, Sean." "What?' "The munks didn't kill me. You did." "I did!?" "Well, you didn't do consciously. Those bastards had you hypnotized and made you kill me while you were under." "Damn. So, they weren't lying." 'no, Sean. They weren't." "I wish I could get my hands on those bastards, but that's a little hard to do now." He looked back to the girls, who were standing over his body, trying to make sense of what just happened. "Chipmunks, I know you can't hear me but, I want you to stop those freaks. If anyone can, you can. It's your hands now. You better stop them, or I'll make you pay from beyond the grave." "Are you ready Sean? Leon and Brent are waiting for us." 'Yeah. Let's go." With that, Naomi and Sean's spirits passed on to the other side. "Girls!" The guys had just arrived. " What happened?" Simon asked. "He attacked us. We fought back. He beat us up, so we had a little talk with our dark selves and finally got to use the merged state power. Then, we continued the fight. But, after about five minutes, he just dropped." Brittany recapped. "Is he dead? Alvin asked. " I think so." Jeanette bent down and tried to take Sean's pulse. "There's no pulse. He's dead." "Girls." Cash said. The girls looked at him. " BE honest with us. Did you kill him?" " No, Cash, we didn't. After we achieved the merged state, we beat him up a bit, but I promise you that we didn't do anything to him that would kill him." "He tried to punch us, and we grabbed his hands. Jeanette and Eleanor braced us. He pushed and pushed, but we stood strong. So, he kept pushing and pushing. But, then, all of a sudden, he stopped pushing against and stopped moving. Then, he just dropped. but, I swear, we didn't do him in." "Alright, I believe you." " But, if the girls didn't kill him, what did?" Simon asked. 'I guess we'll have to wait until they can perform an autopsy. Speaking of that, we should call Eric. Tell it's finally over." Cash said. "Yeah, but how do we explain this exactly?" Alvin asked. "Let me." Todd said, coming up to them. "I saw the whole thing. He really did just drop. I'll back you up. I'll even go check the security tapes and see if they caught it. I'm sure they did." "Thanks Todd." Meanwhile. 'Sir." "Yes?" "Sean has failed. I believe he's dead." " I see. What about the chipmunks?" "They're all still alive." " I see. You may go." 'Sir." " Looks like I was right. Pay up sister." "Fine, here's your money."


	137. Chapter 137

New munks

Time to rest

"Happy birthday, Ben!" the munks all shouted. Today was Ben's eighth birthday, and the munks were gathered at Theodore's to celebrate. Yesterday, thanks to the tapes and Todd's timely eye witness report, the girls were not charged with anything. After all, they didn't kill Sean. Katherine, just as with Naomi, had performed a day after autopsy and revealed how he died. The munks were shocked when they heard Naomi's theory about Sean's death. She said that she found muscle fibers belonging to Brent in Sean's arms. But, more importantly, She said that she had found very recent surgery scars on Sean and figured that, as with Naomi, Sean's system was set at a safe level, but he had had surgery to crank it up to dangerous levels. Just so he could kill them. All they could say was that they were glad it was finally over and that they prayed that they'd never run into some as "crazy', as Alvin and Brittany simply put it, again. Katherine said amen to this and said that she was happy that they could live normal lives again. " Thanks everybody." Ben said. "Here you go, birthday boy." Olivia said, helping Eleanor carry in his cake. "Whoa! That cake looks great, Ely." Simon said. "Thank you. Now Benjy, this cake is chocolate on chocolate and you can have as much as you want, since it's your birthday. But, just this once. I'm only letting you have this much sugar and sweets because it's your birthday. Tomorrow, your back on your candy cut back.' "Ah, come on. Have a heart, Ely." Alvin said. "Excuse me?" "Eleanor, Eleanor, Eleanor. Your probably the best mom out of all of us, but you don't get it? Little kids need candy. And you've taken him completely off. You see, to little kids, candy is like electricity to a light bulb. They just don't work without it." Brittany said. "Hmm, well, he has had days where he just doesn't seem to have any energy ever since I put him on this cut back.." "Exactly. Candy and sugar are fuel for kids. Now, you shouldn't let them have all the time, but the occasional, maybe every other day, candy bar will only do them good. Eating candy constantly is bad, but a little bit of sweet here and there will restore a kid when they don't have any strength. I, personally, let Eliza have two cookies a day." "She sure does. And I never feel better during the day than I do in the hours after I have my cookies." " And notice how trim she is. I give her some sweets everyday and she never gains a pound and hasn't had a cavity in years." "Hmm, well, You have a point. I suppose I have, technically, cut him off instead of back. Alright then. Benjy, you can have up to three pieces candy a day." "Thank you! And, Aunt Brittany?" "Yes?' "You rock!" ' I know." "Alright, that's enough chit-chat. Time blow to blow out the candles Ben." Dave said. Ben blew out the candles and the munks sang happy birthday to him. Twenty minutes later, the kids had gone off to play and the girls were sitting in the living room talking and joking. The guys, Dave included, went into the into the basement and began to play poker. They had played three hands already. Cash won everyone of them. "Alright, guys. Hold or fold?" Dave asked. "I'll hold." Alvin said. "Me too." Theodore said. "I think I'm good." Simon said. "Cash?" "I'll hold to." "Alright, I'll hold too then." 'Then it's time to show what we got." Alvin said. "Well, I've got a pair of threes." Dave said. "Theodore?' "I've got a pair of kings and a pair of jacks." "Pretty good. Simon?" "I've got three aces." " Very nice, Simon. Alvin?" Alvin snickered a bit and said "Full house! Beat that." "Well, that's it. Alvin wins." Theodore said. "Not so fast, Theo. Cash still has to lay his hand down." "Yeah, wheat do you have, Cash?" Alvin asked. Cash laid his cards down and said 'royal flush." "Looks like cash wins again." Simon said. "Man, that's four in a row. If we were playing for money, we'd all be out big time." Theodore said. " Where is it? Where's the lucky rabbits foot or four leaf clover? You have to have something, so where are you hiding it?" Alvin asked. "I swear, Al. I don't have anything." Cash said "Then how do you keep winning?!" 'I guess it's just 'the luck of the chipmunks'." "Yeah, well, it must like you more, cause this munk sure doesn't have any luck." "Now, that's not true, Al." Simon said. "You have plenty of luck. We all do. We're lucky that we survived that ordeal. We're lucky that our families are all safe and sound. We're lucky that we can return to our normal lives." 'Yeah, I guess your right, Sy. It is nice to be able to sit here and relax. Man, never thought I'd be able to say that again. Feels good to say it." " Yeah. But, I can't help but wonder. Sean's group guys obviously killed Naomi, so why did he say that we killed her?" Theodore asked. "Maybe he got so mad that not even his own sister could beat us, that he ordered her to be killed in frustration. And when he realized what he'd done, his mind shifted around and past the blame onto us, in order to protect himself." Simon said. " Kinda like how all four of them blamed us for their dad killing himself." "Yeah, kinda." Ring. "I'll get it." Cash said. " Man, Theo. Only you would be lazy enough to put a phone in the basement. Seriously, how much effort does it take to climb the stairs and answer it the rec room?" Alvin asked. "It was Ely's idea. She said that that way, if some one called while she was doing the laundry and the rest of us were out, she'd be bale to answer it and keep an eye on he laundry." "Okay. Your sure that you don't want us to come? Yeah, I know that but, we'd be going to support you, not for their sake. Well, alright. If your sure. Alright. Yeah, I'll tell Ben happy birthday for you. Alright. Talk to you later. Bye." "Who was that Cash?" Theodore asked. " I was X. He said that the cops found something and that's why he and mom aren't here." "What did they find?" Alvin asked. "They found Leon and Brent's bodies." "What? When?' 'Yesterday." 'Why didn't they tell us?" Alvin asked. "Because they didn't know that it was them until they got done with processing and doing a dna check on them. As soon as they realized it was them, they called the next of kin, which would be X." 'How did they find them?" Simon asked. 'Xavier said that some demolition guys found them. They were blowing up some old condemned building and the blast unearthed them." "So, they harvested them and then buried them, huh? Well, at least they had the decency to do that." Alvin said. "What else did Xavier say, Cash?" Simon asked. "He said that he felt that, since he's their only family left, he should bury them all properly. So, him and mom are already going about setting up funeral arrangements. Nothing fancy but, it'll at least be a proper burial for them." "Yeah. Even bad guys need graves." Alvin said. " Yeah. And I told him we'd come to the funeral. You know, not for their sake, but to support him. But, he said, since they did try to kill us, that we shouldn't. But he appreciated the thought." " Poor, x. He's the last of the Franklins now. He's all alone." Theodore said. "Well, He may be the last of the Franklins, but he's not alone." They heard a voice say. They looked to see Brittany and the rest of the girls standing at the top of the stairs. "Britt? How long have you been standing there?" Alvin asked. "Long enough. We heard it all. When the funeral is over, we have to do whatever we can to make X feel better." 'Yeah. After all, we're his family." Eleanor said. "Speaking of family, we should probably start spending more time with Patty too." Jeanette said. 'Good point. We'll start tomorrow." Brittany said.


	138. Chapter 138

New munks

The successor

"Alright, pull!" Alvin cried. Today, the chipmunks had gone to open area outside of the city for a picnic and had taken up a bit of skeet shooting. Going off what Jeanette had said, they had invited Xavier, who had buried his niece and nephews two days ago, and Patty to come along. And they did. "Britt, I said pull." "I heard you! Give me a sec." Brittany yelled back to her husband. She grabbed a disc and chucked it into the air. Alvin blasted it to pieces. " Man, X. It was a good thing you went back and got these this stuff. This is fun." "I'm glad your enjoying yourself, Alvin. You guys deserve the rest." 'Yeah well, we didn't go through all that on our own. We had your and Patty, and lots of other people's, help. Now, obviously, we can't take everybody out to a picnic like this, but we can at least take care of our nearest relatives." Simon said. He then turned to his wife, who was in charge of throwing his target discs, or 'skeet', into the air." Jeanette, make a double please." Jeanette nodded and grabbed two discs. "Pull!" Jeanette threw the discs into the air. Simon shot one and then the other. "I can beat that. Britt, three please." Alvin said. "One triple coming up." She grabbed the discs and chucked them high into the air as soon as Alvin said pull. Alvin managed to shoot two of the discs, but missed the last one. "You were saying, Alvin?" Simon asked. " Ah, be quiet." Cash smirked to himself. Today seemed so odd to him. In a way, it seemed down right goofy. Just to be hanging out and having a good time without the fear of anything happening to them the next day just seemed that out of place. A week ago, they were still trying to just to find Sean, and now they were doing this. The kids were running around and playing, with Theodore keeping an eye on them. Alvin, Simon and Xavier were target shooting. Eleanor and Katrina were setting up the picnic lunch. Dave was taking a nap under a tree. Miss Miller was playing solitaire. And Vinny was reading a book. The whole family was enjoying their day, and didn't have to worry about anything. It just didn't seem real yet. But, even so, he wasn't complaining. He had learned long ago not to complain about having some down time. He liked excitement, as everyone does, but he had learned not to crave it when things got boring.. Because, as he had found out, the old adage 'be careful what you wish for' had a habit of sneaking up and biting them pretty hard. So, instead, he would wait. He knew, at some point, something would come up that would require them to spring into action, and he was sure that that would suffice any need for excitement. He just hoped it was something small. He didn't want anything big to handle right now. Not after all they had been through lately. And, what he thought was the strangest thing about this whole situation, was that Alvin agreed. They both agreed that a life with out a little action is boring, but they didn't want to have any big adventures for a while. For now, he was content with being the grill master and focused on grilling up the best hotdogs and burgers he could. " Pull!" Cash heard Xavier yell from his right. Patty, who was in charge of Xavier's supply of targets, threw a disc into the air. However, it only went half as high as the girls tosses. "No, no, Patty. Not like that." Brittany said. "You got to bend your knees first, Bend your knees and then, when X says pull, throw the discs as you come up. Think of it as a kind of uppercut motion." "Oh, I see. And that'll get me the most height in my throw?" 'Yup." "I see. Good. Thank you, Brittany." " No problem." Eleanor, who had listened to Brittany's explanation, laughed a little to herself. She thought how Brittany had explained the correct motion was funny. "Only Brittany or Alvin would use a punch motion to explain something." She thought. She then looked back at the table. Katrina had just set the last plate. "Hey, Cash?" "Yeah, Ely?" 'Are the burgers and hotdogs done yet?" Cash looked at the grill. "As they'll ever be." "Alright, I say it's time to eat then. Hey, guys! Food's on!" The family gathered, had Xavier say grace and then began to eat. However, something seemed to be bugging Xavier. He had hardly touched his food. "Something wrong, Grandpa?' Olivia asked. "No." "Then why aren't you eating?" Eliza asked. "I guess I'm just not hungry." " Xavier, are you alright?" Dave asked. "I'm fine, it's just that.." "Is it about them?" Katrina asked, referring to the now deceased and buried Franklin children. "Yes." "X, you know if we could have done anything to make it go down differently, we would have." Cash said. " I know that Cash, it's just that, I have a problem and only one answer." 'What do you mean?" Simon asked. "Well, after the funeral the other day, I was in a bit of a funk, as Vinny can tell you." "You seemed depressed." Vinny said. "I was. I was thinking 'well, that's it. Now that they're gone, the Franklin line is history.' Now, I don't blame you guys. You just battled them. You had nothing to do with their deaths. But, still, I thought that. I thought my family's line ended with me. I mean, Jack is dead, his kids are all dead, my wife is dead and so is my daughter. And there in lies a problem. I know that nobody can live forever." "Though lots of people we've met have tried to." Alvin muttered to himself. "And so, I know, one day, I'll be gone too. And if I die, then there won't be a Franklin to continue the family name or run my company the way I want it to be run. And there's lots of things I want it to do. Like that cure for X.P we promised those kids you took to Disney land. My company has already given it's word, and I don't want to go back on it. So, I want that done, and I thought only a Franklin would make sure that it would. Now, I know my board of directors would try to make good on all my company's promises, and that they'd try to run the company the way they'd think I would, but, when it boils down to it, they just can't. Because they don't know me as anything more than their boss. I need someone who knows me. And so, I've been thinking. As a matter of fact, I've been thinking about this ever since we first thought they were dead years ago. I put it off to the side for a while, and tried to forget about it. After all, nobody likes thinking about their own demise. But, burying them brought it back up and I had no choice but to think about it again. You see, I was hoping to pass it all on to Maria, but obviously, I can't do that. Then I thought about passing it all on to Jack's kids, but it was quickly made obvious that I couldn't trust them. And, even if they had lived through all that just like you did, I still couldn't have ever trusted them. I'd never be able to trust anybody who tries to kill my grandchildren and great grandchildren. And, right after I thought that, it hit me. I realized that, while I knew it had to be family, it didn't have to be a Franklin. Just a family member I trusted. And then I had to kick myself for not realizing this years ago. There was a person I could pass it all on to. The person that I know is perfect for it." 'So, what's the problem?" Theodore asked. "The problem is, though I know that that person could do it, I don't just want to shove it into that person's hands and say 'good luck'. I don't want that person to do it if they don't want to. And, I know that person doesn't like to have to deal with pressure. So, I'm afraid to ask that person." "That person, that person, that person. Just say the person's name already, grandpa." Alvin said. "The person I've been talking about, is you, Vinny." " Me?" " Yes. Ever since you came to live wit me, You've been like a daughter to me. And, obviously, you've already continued the family line, and your sons have continued it even father. And I'm sure the kids will continue it again when they're old enough. But, you don't like dealing with pressure. So, even though I know that this way the family line, even it's carried on by what others would call 'surrogates', will never really die, I don't want to force it on you. But, I would really appreciate it if you would say yes." Vinny thought for a moment. "Xavier?" 'Yes?" "So long as you make sure that I have lots of help, since I have hardly any business experience, I'd be honored to continue your family's work." "That can be arranged. And, Thank you, Vinny. I'll go have this written into my will as soon as possible." Vinny then hugged Xavier. " Alright, now Franklin industries is officially a part of our family." Theodore said. "Yeah, great. We needed more fame." Simon said. "Ah, don't act like you don't like being famous, Simon." Alvin said. "Well, it does have it's perks." "Yeah. And, this way, we make sure that the bond between Franklin Industries and Chipmunk records will never go away. It'll just get passed on to the next generation." Katrina said. " But, don't think that, just because you know that it'll all be taken care of, that means you can kick the bucket anytime soon." Cash said. "We want you to stick around as long as possible. And that goes for both you.' Jeanette said, looking at Xavier and Vinny. "That's right. Matter of fact, i hereby decree that neither of you are allowed to die until your at least a hundred and thirty years old." Alvin said. "Oh come on now, Alvin. Be reasonable. I mean, a hundred and thirty years? Nobody's ever lived that long." 'What about Methusalah? He lived a lot longer than that." 'Okay, nobody in modern times has ever lived that long." "Not yet. But, that one guy in japan, what's his name Cash?" "Tomoji Tanabe." "Yeah, him. He's got about two years left until he's that old. In fact, I believe he's on the list of the world's oldest people. And, I'm expecting mom and X to join him on that list someday." Simon gave up and Xavier and Vinny laughed. "Alright, we'll try, honey." Vinny said. "But, if we have to live that long, then you all have to out do us. Let's say, a hundred and forty." Xavier joked. "Fine." The munks said.


	139. Chapter 139

New munks

Old money or new?

"Jeanette, hold your end up higher. Tony, go get the door." "Okay." Today the munks were doing their things at their houses. Theodore watched from his front porch as Simon and Jeanette attempted to get a large and very heavy looking box into their house across the street. "What is Simon up to?" Theodore turned to his right to see his wife standing there. "No idea. But, I know that he's been wrestling that crate or whatever it is out of his car for the last five, maybe ten minutes." " Why don't you go help him then?" "Because we're expecting company and I don't wanna be gone when they get here. Dave taught us to always wait at home, patiently, when expecting company. He always said 'don't go anywhere. Just stay there and wait.'" "So, in other words, you think it would be rude if they showed up and you weren't here to greet them? Is that it, honey?" "Exactly." 'Well, I'm sure Jesse and Juliet wouldn't mind." "Yeah, probably not, but, that was just one of those lessons Dave pounded into our heads. Don't think that I don't wanna go help him. He's my brother after all. It's just that, well, it's like my body doesn't want to move. Like Dave accidentally programmed us to wait like this back then and, even now, I can't fight it." Eleanor grabbed Theodore's arm and pulled. " Dang! Dave wired you guys good. Normally, I can get you out of a seat no sweat. But now, it's like you weigh a ton. Like your body's making itself heavy enough to keep me from lifting you." "Sorry." "Ah well, they managed to get it inside already anyways. Never mind helping them now, I guess." "Yeah. And, I want you to know, I wasn't being lazy. I really did wanna help him, but my body just wouldn't move." 'I know, dear. I saw you try to move." Eleanor and Theodore then became aware of a car pulling into their drive way. "Hey, Jesse." Theodore said. "Hey, Theo." "Good to see you again, Juliet." Eleanor said. "Same here. Oh, we brought Kathy and Rosie with us." "Rosie too?" Rosie stepped out of the car, wearing her full coverage as usual. "She had nothing to do at home, so we asked her to come with us while we're out today." Jesse said. "Aren't you afraid she'll.." 'We've already taken all the precautions we can, Ely." " Well, alright. Just so long as you know what your doing." "Girls, why don't you go play with Ben and Olivia while we talk with Theo and Ely?" Juliet asked. "Can we go in, Mrs. Seville?" Rosie asked. "Go on in. Your welcome anytime, Rosie. You know that. I think the kids are in their rooms." " Alright. Come on Kathy." "Right behind you." "Don't get too comfy girls. We're only staying bout a half hour. We've still got more places to go today." "We know daddy!" Kathy yelled back. " Race ya to Libby's room, Rosie!" 'Your on!" "Well, no point in standing out here. Let's go inside too." Theodore said. Once inside, the adults began to talk. "So, anything new with you guys?" Jesse asked. "Well, yesterday, Grandpa asked mom to take over his company after he dies." Theodore said. 'Oh my! Is Xavier sick or something?!" 'What? No! No, he's still got quite a bit of living left in him. This was just a precaution thing. He said mom was the only he could trust to run the company right after he, eventually, passes on. But, he's not going to die anytime soon. Matter of fact, Alvin told him and mom both that they aren't allowed to die until they're at least a hundred and thirty years old." "Wow." Juliet said. 'That's not all. After Alvin said, Xavier said that, if they had to live that long, we had to out do them. He said all six of us had to live to be at least a hundred and forty." Eleanor said. " A hundred and forty?! Can you guys actually live that long? I mean, I know of some humans who've lived past a hundred and twenty, but, can you chipmunks really live that long?" Jesse asked. "We don't know, but we're gonna try." Theodore said. "Man, I've gotta try to live long enough to see your hundred and fortieth birthdays. We'll all be in wheelchairs crippled by old age but, I still wanna see it." "We'll save a seat at the table for you, Jesse." Eleanor said. "Uh, hey, about Vinny taking over Xavier's company." Juliet said. "What about it?" Eleanor asked. "Did she say yes? Did she say she'll do it?" "Uh-huh. But, only on the condition that she gets lots of help, since she doesn't know a lot about running a business. He said that that could be arranged and then it was on. He said he'd go have it written into his will as soon as possible. I think he said ' I'll have it written down as 'upon my death, control and primary leadership of my company, Franklin Industries, is to be transferred to my surrogate daughter, Vinny Chipmunk. She is free to do with it as she sees fit.' "Well, good for her. And, I'll bet that made Xavier really happy." 'Like you wouldn't believe." "Hmm." "What is it, Jesse?" Theodore asked. "Well, I was just thinking about this whole Vinny taking over after Xavier's dead thing." 'Yeah, and?" "well, I can't help but wonder, does this make you guys old money or new money?" 'What?" "well, see, there are two types of rich. There's new money, were somebody has made his or her fortune. Somebody who is the first person in his or her line to be rich. New money is the generation after that. The children bon from that first wealthy person. Like, take you guys. Just looking at the money you've made off your music careers, you've, technically, become new money. Your kids are old money, because they were born into an already rich family.. But, now that Vinny's Xavier's daughter emotionally and legally, that changes. I mean, she's always been his daughter. Ever since they first met and she came to live with him. That tight emotional bond made them father and daughter. And, once you lot were involved, you became his grandkids. But, the government doesn't look at emotional bonds, just legal ones. So, now that Xavier's gonna have that written out like that, you all are legally his grandkids. And, I'd imagine, knowing Vinny the way I do, I expect that she would pass it onto all of you once she's gone, right?' 'That's the basic idea." Eleanor said. 'Right. So, now that vinny's Xavier's kid legally, she's old money, as far as I can figure anyway. So, I guess your second generation old money. But, since you weren't born into his family, but absorbed into it later, I'm just wondering if your technically old money or new money?" " Well, I don't think it really matters." Eleanor said. "old or new, it doesn't matter. All we need to know is that we love Grandpa and mom, and they love us. What Xavier's money makes us doesn't matter. We aren't worried about it." "Not even Alvin?' "If he is, he hasn't said anything about it yet. Him and Brittany, as they keep telling us every time we pick on them, have changed. I mean, they probably still think that having money is nice but, they aren't greedy and self centered like they used to be. I don't think this will go to their heads like it would have in the past." 'Man, having Eliza really warped them huh?" "Yeah, it sure did." "Imagine if they had another. If they did, do you think they'd change even more?" Juliet asked. "I don't know. There's only one way to find out, but there's still a problem. Alvin and Brittany didn't want to try to have another kid anytime soon, because we were still dealing with the group around the time they were thinking about it. But, now that that's over, I would guess that they'd be more willing. But, they aren't going to do anything until Eliza gives the word." Eleanor explained. 'She still saying that she's not ready to be a big sister? "Yup. I wish we could find a way to help her along."

New munks

A drunk Cash

Juliet and Jesse continued to talk to their friends for a while. But, eventually, they had to go. " Well, We'd better get going. Don't wanna take up your whole day." Juliet said. "Oh, it's not a bother. We didn't have anything planned to do today anyways." Eleanor said. "Well, we still have some other things to do today. But first, Juliet, give them that thing." "Oh, yeah. I forgot. And that's main reason we dropped by in the first place. Here you go." Juliet pulled a small bottle out of her purse. Eleanor examined the bottle. "Um, eggnog? It's a little late for Christmas guys." "That's 'anytime eggnog'. they make it year round. A cousin of mine sent it to me." Juliet said. "if your cousin sent this to you, why are you giving it to us?" Theodore asked. ' Well, cause you the 'food munks'. you know, the ones that know the most about food and drinks. And, because, well.." "Hey! This alcoholic eggnog! And high proof too!" Theodore said. " And because of that." Juliet finished. "Juliet, we don't drink. None of us do." Eleanor said." I know. Neither do we. My cousin sent it as a joke. But, we don't have any use for it. So I thought, maybe, since you two know so much about food and drinks, I thought maybe you might be able to find a use for it, other than drinking it." "Well, I guess we could find something to do with it." "Thanks. I knew we could count on you guys. Well, I guess we'd better get out of your hair. Girls!" 'What, mom?" Kath called back. 'I never get tired of her calling me that." Juliet said to Eleanor. Eleanor only smiled. "We're leaving." "Okay, we're coming." The two headed down the stairs, followed closely by Ben and Libby. Juliet noted the cookies in the girls' hands. "Where did you get those?" Juliet asked. "Libby made them for us. She's got a huge, easy-bake style oven in her room." Kathy explained. "But where did she get the ingredients?' "She already had them up there. She's been messing with that thing all morning. We got it for her eighth birthday. She doesn't use it a lot, not since she 'graduated' to the adult oven, but when the mood strikes her, she wears it out." Theodore stated. "I see." "And her room better be clean after she's done using it too. I don't wanna see any flour on the floor or anywhere else." Eleanor said. "There's not a speck of anything on anything that it shouldn't be, mom. I swear. I made the dough in a really small batch and then sealed up the flour and all the other ingredients' containers. I just haven't brought them back down yet. I'll go get them right now. And, I'll wash the mixing bowl and baking pan." Olivia disappeared back up stairs. "Wow, Eleanor. I didn't know you could sound like that." Jesse said. "Well, I just cleaned this house, top to bottom, last night. I don't want anything to get dirty again this quick." "Still though, i think you scared her a little." "Did I? I didn't mean to. I just didn't want her room to get dirty." "Mom?' Olivia asked from the steps. She was now carrying everything she had used to make the cookies in her room on the baking pan. 'Where's the scrubber? Some of the dough got burnt onto the pan. I wanna scrub it off, so it's nice and clean, for you." "Oh, you don't need to do all that, honey. Just put the stuff back and put the dishes in the sink and I'll wash them in a minute. And, I'm sorry if I accidentally scared you into thinking that you needed to do all that to please me. You know I don't mind the pans and what not getting dirty, and that I don't mind cleaning them when your done. I just didn't want you room to get dirty after i cleaned it last night." "Oh, okay. Well, my room's still clean. It smells like fresh cookies now, but it's still clean." "Okay. Now, go put those things in the kitchen and, uh, I don't know, go play with your brother." " Okay, mom. Come on, Benjy." "I'm coming. Say, think we can play some soccer?" "Sure, why not?" 'I wish I could play with you." Rosie said. Libby walked over and put her hand on her younger friend's shoulder. "I promise you, Rosie, I'll find a place where we can play inside, so that you can play with us. Just give me some time. As soon as I find a place, I'll let you know.' "thanks, Libby." Jesse smiled and said "alright, let's go girls. We'll see you around guys." "Alright, guess I ought to put this eggnog away." Eleanor said. "What do you think we should do with it?' Theodore asked. "I don't know. We definitely won't drink it. I guess we'll just put it away until we think of something." A few hours later. "Hello? Oh, hi, Jean........ Uh-huh. Okay, sure. Yeah, no problem. I'll be over in a second." Eleanor spoke until the phone. "Theo honey?" 'Yeah?" "That was Jeanette. She found a recipe she'd like to try out and wants me to help her. So, I'm gonna go help her. I'll be back as soon as I can." 'Okay. Say, did she say what was in that big crate thing they were carrying in this morning?" "Yeah. More Twee-twee stuff. She said Simon and Tony are going over it like crazy." 'Oh, okay." 'You can come with me you know." " Nah. If Jeanette wanted me to come too, she would've asked. And, if I went anyway, I wouldn't able Simon or Tony either, so I'd just be sitting there doing nothing. So, I'll stay here. I'll find something to do." "Well, okay. I'll be back in a bit." Moments later. "Daddy!" Olivia yelled. "What is it, honey?" 'My easy bake shorted out." "Alright, I'm coming." Theodore walked up t his daughter's room. "What happened honey?" "I just tried to use up the rest of my cookie dough and my oven just up and shorted out." "I think it may be the bulb. Let me look." Theodore opened the child sized oven and looked in. "No, it looks fine. Huh, if it's not the bulb, what's the problem?" " do you know how to fix it, daddy?" "No, honey, I don't. Sorry. But, I have an idea of who might." "Who? Uncle Simon?' "No, he's busy and I think Alvin's out doing something today too. But, Cash, as far as i know, is home and I know he can take care of it. I'll go call him." Twenty minutes later. "Alright, Theo. Where is it?" "Over here." 'Okay, give me a second to look at it." Cash examined the machine and pulled out it's wires. "Ah, there's your problem. These wires wore out and broke." "Can you fix it, uncle Cash?" Olivia asked. "Sure, I can, Libby. Just give me a second and I'll make a patch for it and have you baking again in no time." True to his word, cash repaired the machine and had it humming away with a test batch of cookies inside. The machine's bell went off. "Alright, let's see how well I did. If I did anything wrong with the wires ,these cookies should taste different." "Well, they don't look burnt or under baked." Theodore said. They tried the cookies. "they taste great. Your a great electrician, uncle Cash." "Why thank you, Libby. Alright, go have fun." "Right! Ben, Ben! Uncle Cash got it working again! Come on, I'll make you some more cookies!" "Man, I'm glad you know how to do so much stuff, Cash." "Eh, what Grandpa Seville always says. 'Sooner or later, you find a use for all your talents.'' "Yeah, Say, was that another skill Agito taught you?" 'Nah. Just something I picked up over the years." "Well, I'm glad you knew how. Why don't you take something to drink out of the fridge before you go." "Well, i don't really need anything, but if you insist.' Cash went over and removed a bottle from the fridge. "I'll take this." Theodore didn't see that Cash had taken the eggnog. "Alright. And thanks again.' Hours later. "Hello?' 'Theo, it's kate." "Oh, hey kate. What's up?" "Cash is drunk, that's what's up.' "He's drunk?! But, how? He doesn't drink." "I think it's because he drank this whole bottle of alcoholic eggnog without realizing what it was. He said he got it from you, that's why I called." "Oh man, he took that!? I told him to take something to drink on the way home after he helped me fix Libby's oven. But, I didn't think he'd take that." "Where did you eve get this, Theo?" 'Jesse and Juliet gave it to us this morning. Juliet said her cousin sent it to her as a joke. They thought maybe we could figure out what to do with it, other than drinking with it. Man, Kate, I'm sorry. I should've got him something myself, instead of letting him pic at random." "No, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known that he'd end up taking that.. But, man is he gone. Right now, he's laying on his favorite chair, upside down, while trying to sing the witch doctor backwards. And, surprisingly, he's not doing that bad. Oh, boy. I'll bet he'll have one mother of a headache in the morning. Hopefully this'll teach him to read the labels before he eats or drinks anything again.' "Yeah. Hey, I just had an idea. Maybe you ought to call Jerry. I know he's clean now, but maybe he'll know how to clear Cash up." "Good idea, but I think he's working today. Tomorrow's Saturday, so I'll call him in the morning. Thanks for the idea, Theo." " Jut trying to help. It's kinda my fault anyway." "Alright. Well, I'd better go make sure drunk Cash doesn't do anything that'll hurt normal Cash. Bye, Theo." 'Bye."


	140. Chapter 140

New munks

'cure'

"Oh, God. My head. Somebody make the room stop spinning." Cash said. The day after his drunken episode, Cash was experiencing his first and only hang over. Jerry had been called over to help him. "Yep, you definitely got a hangover." Jerry said. "Welcome to the club!" "Jerry, your like a brother to me but, please, shut up. OW! Every little light makes my head pound." "Yeah, that happens. Noises will bother you more too. And you might not wanna stay too far from the bathroom or sink." "Shut up, Jerry! I feel bad enough already. Your here to help me, so start helping." 'Irritability, another symptom." "Jerry!" "Okay, okay. I know what to do. But first, dude, what were you thinking?" "I didn't see word 'alcoholic' on the bottle. So, I drank it." "Man, if you don't start looking that horse in the mouth, eventually, it's gonna turn around and kick your head off." "Horse? What horse?' 'You know, 'the gift horse. Haven't you heard the saying 'don't look a gift horse in the mouth'? Well, this is one of those times you should have." "Yeah, yeah. I learned my lesson. Read the damn bottle before you drink what's in it." 'And?" 'And I learned my alcohol lesson all over again. Just don't drink it. Ever." "Good, and now I'll help you. So first, let's scope out your fridge." "Why?" 'I need to see what you got in here. Let's see. Okay, you've got lots of orange juice, that's good. And we can get water straight from the tap. Okay, two down, two to go. Let's see. Oh man." "What?" "You don't have any pickles or Gatorade." "No, we don't. Do we need them?" "Yeah. I need the Gatorade and the juice from the pickles." 'Juice?" "You know, that stuff that the pickles float in inside the jar." "That's called a brine, Jerry." "Eh, you call it brine, I call it pickle juice. All I know is I need some to make my home remedy." "Oh, your making a home remedy...wait...what?" "I'm going to make you a home remedy that always worked for me when I drank. I take one part orange juice, one part Gatorade and one part pickle juice and mix it together. Then, to make sure it's not too strong, I water it down with a little, well, water. " "Um.." 'Trust me, it works a lot better than it tastes." "How bad does it taste?" "Well, let's just say that, with all those things mixing together in it, if you can get it down, it'll 'shock' the alcohol out of your system. Oh, by the way, I should probably mention that your gonna need to stay close to the bathroom or a sink cause your body may wanna get rid of my concoction, and fast." "So, in other words, if I can survive drinking your slop, my hangover will be cured." "Yup. You just sit here and keep drinking water. I'll be right back with the pickle juice and Gatorade." jerry hen left. A moment later. "Is he gone?' Katrina asked from around the corner. "Yeah." "So, did he have any ideas on how to help you?" "Yeah. He's gonna make me some kind of concoction that's a mix of pickle brine, Gatorade, orange juice and water. He said that if I can get it down, it should 'shock' my body into getting rid of the alcohol in my system." "Okay, and Jerry is trying to poison you because?" " I don't know." "Man, I called him because I thought he could help you, not make you sicker. It's a good thing he's not around. Now I can search for some real medicine for you. Now, let's see, hmm, oh, some alka-seltzer should help you. Or some Pepto-Bismol." Katrina looked around in the kitchen cabinets. "Nothing. Hang on honey. We've got to have some in the medicine cabinet in the bathroom upstairs. I'll be right back." Katrina walked upstairs and stopped by Tom' room to say to Tom and Roxy, who was visiting today. "Hi guys." "Hey, mom."

New munks

Family dog

"So, your dad really got drunk last night and now he has a hangover?" Roxy asked. "Yeah, but he didn't do it on purpose. He got this bottle of eggnog from Uncle Theodore yesterday. And, amazingly, dad actually likes eggnog. I tried some once and I couldn't even get it down it tasted so nasty. Anyways, dad likes eggnog and doesn't think twice about drinking it when it's offered to him." 'And now he will think twice." "Exactly." Roxy began to look around. "Hey, where's Nell?" " In her room, reading probably." "Man, doesn't she ever get out?" 'Yeah, but only when some of her friends are over. Get any of the others over here, and watch how fast she shoots out of her room.' "What's wrong with playing with you and me?" "Well, for one, I'm her brother and we live in the same house. She can play with me anytime she wants. And, since your dead set on marrying me in the future, which I like the idea of a lot, she thinks of you more as a surrogate sister, and thus, she treats you the same way she does me." "I see. Do you think she likes me?" "Well, as one of her surrogate sisters, and future sister-in-law, I'd say she loves you. She just doesn't say it that often." " But I hear say 'I love you, daddy' to your dad all the time." "Dad's a special case in her book. No idea why. It's like she thinks everybody else knows how much she cares about them, but she has to constantly remind dad. My sister's weird like that." "Yeah, she can be a little weird at times. I mean, she's got psychic powers. Really strong ones too. But, even so, I wouldn't chose anyone else for a sister-in-law." Tom smiled and nodded. Roxy then started looking around again. "What is it?" "I just now realized, I haven't seen edge since I got here. Where is he?" "Ah, he's around here somewhere. Probably getting into something." All of a sudden, Edge jumped out from under Tom's bed and then jumped up onto Roxy, who was sitting on the bed. He then preceded to lick the young chipmunk's face "Ah, ha, ha, ha. Stop, stop it edge. Your tongue tickles." "Alright, Edge, that's enough. Roxy knows you love her by now." Tom said, picking the dog up and off of Roxy. 'You know, your the second, non-family member that a dog of Edge's line has done that to." "I am?" "Uh-huh." "Who was the first?" "Mom, back when she was just dating dad. And the dog that did it was Edge's Grandma, Lily. Mom will tell you if you ask. Lily was a very loving and laid back dog, from what I hear." "She must be where Edge gets his attitude from." "Probably. Anyway, mom's told me that, every time she came over to visit my dad, whenever she got close enough to her level, Lily would lick mom's face as much as she could." "And now Edge does the same to me." "Exactly." "Lily sounded like a great dog. I wish I could have got a chance to meet her. I assume she's no longer with us?" "Yeah, she's gone." "What did she die from?" "Old age. She and Edge's grandpa, Ace, were both about fourteen when they died. And that's old in dog years. Let's see, for every human year, there's seven dog years. Let's see, fourteen times seven.. Lily and Ace were both about ninety eight years old, in dog years, when they died." "How old was Lily when your dad and Uncles got her?" "Well, she was already around when my dad showed up. But, I heard that, when my uncles got her, she was about seven. So, she died about when my dad and my uncles were twenty. All of her puppies are still around, as far as I know. They gave two away and kept one, Edge's mom. Her name's Eve, she lives with Grandma Miller and she's about eleven." Roxy nodded. " I can't believe this!' They heard.

New munks

Competition

Tom went out into the hall to see what was going on. He saw his mom coming down the hall. Katrina headed past him and went down stairs. "Come on. Let's go check this out." Tom said. Roxy nodded. "Well?' They heard Cash ask Katrina in the kitchen. "There's not even a bottle of aspirin in this house. Has it really been that long since any of us got sick?" "I guess it has." "Well, I guess I'm just going to have to go get some. But, I don't wanna leave you alone." "I'll be fine, honey. The kids are here. They can cover for you." 'I know but, I just don't wanna go. Wait a second. Maybe the kids can go for me. Yeah, and if they go Scott's pharmacy a few blocks over, he'll sell them what we need no problem. He owes us a favor for watching his kids that time." "Man, that's been ages ago. I haven't even thought about that." 'Yeah, it's been about a year. But, he still owes us. And, he knows and trusts us. It shouldn't be a problem. Kids!" "Yeah, mom?" Tom asked. "Oh, good. Your already down here. Wait, did you hear all that?" "Yeah." 'Oh well. No harm done. Think you can go get us what we need?" "Yeah, no problem. I'm not doing anything right now." "Okay, let me go get Helen to go with you." "Actually, I was thinking that I could I go with him instead." Roxy said. "I mean, I'd just be taking up space if I stayed here and waited for him to get back. And I don't wanna go home just yet. So, can I go instead of Helen?" "If that's what you wanna do." "Of course it's what I wanna do, mom.. No, wait, I mean." "It's okay, Roxy. You can call me mom if you want. I mean, I will be your mother-in-law one day right?" "No doubt." "Well, you should get used to calling me mom then, cause that's what we do in this family. My sisters and I call the guys mom, Vinny, mom. In fact, we hardly ever call her Vinny, and we never call her Ms. Chipmunk. We don't even refer to her as our mother-in-law. She's just mom. And so, if she's cool with being called mom by girls that aren't hers, then so am I." "I see." But, if you don't feel comfortable calling me mom, you can call Katrina, Kate, Katie, or keep calling me Mrs. Seville. It's all about you wanna do. Just don't call me old lady or anything." "Okay. Thanks mom." "Anytime, honey. Now, before Cash's bursts open, go get those things. Tom, you know the way, right?" 'Uh-huh." Alright, hurry up. See if you can beat Jerry back." "Right." Tom and Roxy opened the front door and braced themselves. "On the count of three!" Roxy yelled. 'One! Two!...Three!" The duo then darted out the door. Katrina closed it, laughing a little to herself. "Ah, that Roxy. She's so cute." Katrina then heard cash let out a grunt and saw him standing up. "Um, what are you doing honey?" "Well, now that my head's not pounding so hard anymore, I'm gonna go try my own method of getting rid of my hangover." "And that is?" "Exercise. I heard a good work out is supposed to help a hang over, cause it gets the blood pumping harder, so it works out the alcohol faster. Sweating doesn't hurt either, cause that gets rid of some of it too. I think some kung-f should mild enough to give me the work out I need. Yeah, I think Tiger style will be just intense enough." "Do you think it'll work?" "It has to. If it doesn't, and the drugs don't help, I'm gonna have to drink that stuff Jerry's gonna make." "Then, You'd better get started." Meanwhile, the kids had quickly crossed over to the street the pharmacy was on and Tom was inside, getting what they needed. Roxy waited outside. Out of nowhere, a boy, looking to be the same age as Tom, came up to her. "Hey, your pretty cute. What's your name?"


	141. Chapter 141

New munks

Battle over Roxy

"Huh? Are you talking to me?' Roxy asked. "There's nobody else around here, babe. So, what's your name?" "It's Roxanne. Roxanne Chipmunk. My friends and family call me Roxy." "Can I call you Roxy?" "No." "why not?" "Cause your not my friend. I don't know why I'm talking to you. I don't even know your name." "Oh, right, I forgot to give my name. I'm sorry. My name's Nathan Roland Jr." "Nice to meet you. Um, you have two first names?" "No. My last name is Roland." "Ah, I see." "Okay, so, now that you know my name and I know yours, can I call you Roxy now?" "No. We're acquaintances, not friends." "Well, we can become better than friends if you want." "What do you mean?" "Well, if you come with me, right now, I could take you to some places I know of. And, by the end of the day, we could be boyfriend and girlfriend." "Um, no." "what? Why not?!" "Well, for one, I'm a chipmunk and your a human. Or did you not notice the difference in species?" "Well, you look human enough." "Famous last words. Anyway, besides our difference in species, I already have a boyfriend. And he's just like me." "Pfft, I could whoop him easy." "Uh-huh. I'd like to see you try." " If I can, will you go on a date with me?" "Hmm, probably not." "Ah, but you said probably." "Okay then, let me clarify. Definitely not." "Let'em come. I beat the stuffing out of him. And then, we'll go some place nice." "Didn't you hear me?" "Thanks, Scott. Dad really needs this stuff. Yeah, okay, I will. Say hi to Layla for me." They heard as Tom came walking out of the store. "Hey, Roxy. Ready to go?" "Ahem." Nathan said. "Huh? Oh, hey man. How's it going?" "is this him? Nathan asked. "Yeah." "Hey, Rox, what's this guy's deal?" "well..." "I wanna fight you." "What? Why? What for?" "For her." Nathan said, pointing to Roxy. "Roxy?" "He thinks I'm cute and wants a date. I've told him there's no way but, no matter what I say to him, he won't leave me alone." "I see. Sorry buddy. She's with me. She's already told you she's not interested, so buzz off." "No way. I wanna her, and I'm gonna have her." "Man, you never grew up, did you?" Roxy asked. " Whatever. Now, put up your dukes." "Who says that anymore?" Tom wondered out loud. Nathan swung out at him. Tom jumped out of the way. "Alright, if you wanna fight so bad, we'll fight. But, not right now. My dad's sick and he needs this medicine." "Alright then, be here, tomorrow at three o'clock. You too, Roxy." "But, I..." "Don't worry, Roxy. I can take this overgrown chump easy." Roxy nodded and then looked at Nathan. She sized him up. "He's tall for a kid, but Tom's handled a lot worse. Yeah, Tom's right. This'll be a cake walk for him." She smiled as she thought this. Tom saw the smile, and saw that she was looking at Nathan, and took it the wrong way. "You know, you don't have to do this." Roxy said. "Yeah, I know. But, it's on now. Might as well get it over with. Come on let's get back to dad." Later on. 'Hey dad?" "Yeah, Son?" "Are you feeling any better?" "Much. Your mother was right about the store bought medicine. And, man am I glad I dodged the bullet and didn't have to drink that mess Jerry was gonna make. He seemed a little disappointed because he didn't get to see me drink that slop, but he was glad I'm okay now. Now, what do you need?" "Did you ever have to fight some other guy over mom?" "Hmm, nope. I can't say that I did. I've fought lots of battles in her stead, but not over her. Why do you ask?" "well, when we went to the store earlier, this guy came up to Roxy outside while I was in the store. He started hitting on her and, to make a long story short, we're gonna have a fight over her tomorrow." "I see." "Your not gonna try to stop me or something like that?" "Nope. Cause, when it comes to his woman, a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do. Just don't get too bruised up." Cash added when he noticed Katrina was listening from around the corner. "Okay." "Is something wrong kiddo?" "Well, kinda. I'm not so sure about this fight." "Starting to think it was bad idea." "No, not really." "Yup, there's still some Alvin in him." Cash thought. "Then what's the problem?" "Well, I'm just not sure if I can really win." "Okay, who are you and what have you done with my son? That doesn't sound like the Thomas Oliver Seville I know. My son looks adversity in the eye, sticks out his chest and says 'bring it on.', Although, that attitude did get you into a lot of trouble, especially with the group. But, their not a problem anymore, and is a pretty good attitude to have in life. That being said, where's the real Tom?" 'I am the real Tom, dad. It's just.." Tom looked down. Cash knelt and put his hand on his son's soldier. "Tommy, you can talk to me. I'm your dad. If you've got troubles, just tell me what it is and I'll help you. Remember, and I know this'll sound cliché but, I was your age once, and I'm no old codger yet either. So, what's the matter?" "It's Roxy." "What about her?" "Well, she kept saying that she told the guy to leave her alone and what not but, before we left, I saw her looking at him and smiling." Cash looked over his son's head and smiled to his wife. "Did you happen to say anything in particular to Roxy before she looked at this other kid and smiled?" "Uh, yeah. I told her that I could whoop his sorry tail easily. Why?" Cash could barely resist the urge to laugh. So, Katrina finally stepped in. 'Honey, i think you've got this all wrong." "Dah! Mom!? How long have you been standing there?" "Long enough. Anyway, you think she was checking this other guy out right?" "well, yeah." "Well, truth is, she was, but not in the way you think. If I know her as well as i think i do, she wasn't looking at him in the way you think, she was checking to see just how much of a problem this kid will give you." "You think so?" "Tom, Roxy's a girl and I'm a girl. Women can just tell these things about each other. So, I don't think so, i know so. You've just taken this the wrong way." "I see. Oh, um.." 'So long as you don't get roughed up or really hurt this other kid, I don't care what you do. Okay, that's a lie. I'd rather have you not fight but, i know you. You'd fight anyway." "Just try to make it quick okay?" Cash asked. Tom nodded and then ran up to his room. "Are we bad parents because we're letting him do this?" Katrina asked. "Nah. It's just part of being a kid. Little boys wanna fight. I know when I his age, I wanted to fight. Of course, I grew a lot thanks to Agito's training. I haven't taken Tom as far as Agito took me just yet. Maybe I'm being too easy on him. But, that's beside the point. You see, I think you hold'em back if you don't let them get out there and scrape their knees and get a little dirt on their faces. Now, of course, you gotta use reason here, but, getting into little dumb fights is just part of being a kid. Besides, it makes him normal. He's fighting over trivial things with other kids, not fighting for his life against murderous adults." Katrina nodded. "Wait. Trivial? Did you forget honey? Our son sacrificed a kidney and couple years of his life for this girl." "yeah, but as compared to other things he's fought over, this is kinda trivial. I know it's important, but, it's not taking on gangs or monsters." "Hmm, good point." The next day, Tom and Nathan fought. Tom wanted to ask Roxy if what his mom had told him was true, but Nathan never gave him the chance. Finally, Nathan knocked him down and Roxy rushed to his side. That's when Tom got the chance to ask her. "Of course that's what I was doing." "Okay, now I feel really stupid. Look at me. I'm letting myself get my butt kicked." "Yeah, that's not you at all. But, now your back to your old self. So, hurry up and clock this guy.' "With pleasure." Tom had Nathan on the ground in one minute flat. "No! I'm supposed to win." "Hey, Nate was it?" Tom asked. "Yeah." "I want you to see something take a look at this." Tom lifted up his shirt and showed Nathan his surgery scar from when he had his kidney removed. "What's that?" "That's a scar. You wanna know how I got it?" "I guess." "Well, before we became friends, Roxy's brother Rex and i fought like crazy. I mean, we pretty much hated each other's guts. But, one day, he collapsed in pain at Chipmunk records, where my family and roxy's parents work. We rushed him to the hospital. We found out that he had caught a virus that was killing his kidneys, and that if he didn't get at least one good transplant, he was gonna die. So, of course, they asked who was the right person to give him a kidney. The doc said that none of them could do it. You know why none of them would work?" "No.' "It was because that, through a weird twist of fate, Roxy, Nikki and Zack all had their mom's blood type. And Jake and Holly, take after their dad, who's Roxy's step dad. Rex, meanwhile, had the older kids birth father's blood type. And, at the time, said birth father wouldn't help, cause he was mad at Roxy's mom over their divorce. Now, things changed on that front, but that's another story for another day. Anyway, they were out of options. There was no hope." "I'll take it from here, Tom. As Tom said, we were out of options and hope. All we could do was cry and wait for Rex to pass on. That's when a light bulb went off in Tom's head. He asked the doc what Rex's blood type was and found out that they had the same blood type. And so, he ended up giving my brother one of his kidneys, which left him with this scar and shaved a few years off his life." "How?" "That's just what happens when you remove a healthy kidney from a person. It shortens their lives. But, the doc said, every year that Tom here sacrificed, was given to my brother. And so, because of that, if nothing happens, Tom will die years before Rex." "Whoa. And you did this all for her?" "Uh-huh. And I did it because I love her. You think she's cute, and, well, I can't argue with you there. But, she's more than that. You gotta consider who my mom and dad are. They're Katrina and Cash of the chipmunks. And so, lots of girls come after me, looking for a date with the son of the rock stars. And, while I wanna be a rock star when i grow up, it gets kinda old. And, the whole time, I'm not acting like the real me. I have to be a Tom that isn't the real me. But, with Roxy, it's different. She knows who i am and isn't impressed by it. With her, I don't have to be someone I'm not. And that made the connection. That, her cuteness, and her, as she puts it, 'firecracker attitude', all combine together to make a girl I can't help but love." "And he's done so much for me. One time, he, along with his cousins, fought a crazy lady who was gonna kill me and my sisters." "He did?" "Uh-huh." "Man, you are one brave son of a.." "Finish it and I'll put you in the hospital." "Got it. I guess there's only one other thing to say then. You win Tom." Nate got up and began to walk away. "Hey, where you going?" Tom asked. "Home, why?" "Well, I was thinking maybe you'd wanna hang with us for a bit." "But we just.." "Just because we fought means we can't be friends?" "Friends?" "Yeah. I could use some more muscle for my 'gang'. Ha ha, but seriously, when my dad first met one of his best friends, they fought. And then, some things happened, and now, they're like brothers. So, if it works for him, maybe it'll work for me too. So, what do you say?" Tom asked, extending his hand. Nathan grabbed it, saying 'Sure.' "Then welcome to the club."


	142. Chapter 142

New munks

Pool

The next day found Katrina visiting Brittany. "So, how's Cash doing? Is his hangover still lingering?" "No, we took care of it yesterday. It was just like I said. What he needed was to take some over the counter medicine and then he'd be just fine. And, lord, was he relieved when the medicine ended it." "Yeah, I'll bet he was. I heard that hangovers cause headaches that hurt like crazy." "Oh, it's true. Cash can tell you that. But, it wasn't just that. See, we had Jerry come over and tell him how to deal with it. He ended up volunteering to make Cash his own home remedy that he swore always worked for him. Long story short, I think drinking the home remedy would have made Cash sicker." 'Why? What was in it?" "Pickle brine, Jerry called it juice, Gatorade, some water and some orange juice." "Yeah, I think that would've made Cash sicker." "Yeah. I mean, I love Jerry as friend but, a doctor or a chemist he is not." 'Yeah. Say, have you or Cash talked to Jerry and Kelly about, you know." "Yeah. We asked Jerry about that yesterday." "Cool. So, he got the ring yet?" "Not quite. He said he's short another hundred, and he's already saved about five fifty." "He's saved five hundred and fifty dollars already, but still says he's short? What the hell? He's getting her a six hundred and fifty dollar ring?" "Yup. But, hey, our wedding rings cost a lot more than that." "Yeah, but, we're rock stars. It's expected of us. We're supposed to have expensive jewelry." "Well, he's the lead accountant for a major record label. So, I suppose that he could roll with the high brows just the same as we could." "Hmm, I guess your right. Yeah, that makes sense. But, from what I've heard, she just wants to get married. She doesn't want a big, fancy ring that she has to wait for." "Yeah, I mentioned that to Jerry. But, before Jerry could even say anything, Cash piped up. He said that Jerry, like his dad, just wants to get a ring he thinks is worthy of his bride-to-be. And Jerry nodded in agreement." "Wow. Well, if he gets her that ring, I just know that he's gonna have a fun honey moon." "Brittany!" 'What?" "Your daughter is just upstairs. What would you do if she heard that?" "Nothing. She's smart, she'd probably figure out what that meant. She, and the other kids, are growing up in a lot bigger information age than the one we grew up in, Katrina. It just takes a keystroke or two from a kid to find a site that'll tell them all about the facts of life." "I know that, but still. I don't think it's right to say stuff like that near your own child." "What am I supposed to do? Look around to make sure that no kids are around before I say something?" "Well, no, not exactly but.." "And besides, don't you think they've already heard and seen a lot worse than that, thanks to our battles with the group?" "Hmm, well, I guess you have a point." "Kate, look at me." Katrina looked up. "Thanks to the way I act, I'm probably never gonna make mother of the year like you or Ely could, but I still try. Trust me, there are things that Alvin and i talk about that we make sure Eliza isn't around to hear. I may be a little more non-chalant than you, but I don't let her hear anything too bad. Everything that she hears around here is no worse than something she could probably hear, just as easily, on the street. We keep the majority of the serious adult talk to ourselves. What she knows about she's already heard a long time ago. I don't think that a single new, adult topic has entered her brain in quite some time." "Okay, Britt, you've made your point. But, speaking of adult topics. Now that the group isn't an issue anymore, are you and Alvin thinking about, you know..." "Having another kid?" "Yeah." "Well, I know that I'd like to. I know what I've said before, but, that was after what I heard Debbie had told Liz and Tony. How, one day, we're gonna be gone. Not around to help them anymore. And, when I think about it that way, i can't help but think that, as it stands for right now, that Tom and Libby are the lucky ones. When you and Cash and Ely and Theo, eventually, all pass on, yeah your kids are gonna be hurting really bad but, at least they have a sibling. Somebody who'll lean on them and, in turn, make them stronger. I'm sure that even Helen will need to lean on Tom. Her brain's a lot bigger than a normal eight year old's, but emotionally, she's the same as all the other kids out there. And of course, having Ben around, will make Libby stronger. But, Tony and Liz will be all alone. They'll be weaker than the others, because they won't have some one there to make them stronger." "Yeah, but Tony's told Jeanette and Simon that he thinks having a little brother or sister around would be a good idea. Jeanette told me so a while back." "And I applaud him for that. He thought what Debbie said out, thoroughly. I can tell. I saw him a little bit after she told him that. He was thinking through then. And, lord, the look on his face. That was a look of terror that the best horror movies in Hollywood couldn't create. I do believe that the thought of being alone like that really scared him. I mean, I've seen this kid sit through the entire Saw movie franchise and not get scared like that." Meanwhile. "I'm goin' swimming', swimming'." Eliza sang to herself in her room. Today was pretty hot, so she decided to head across the street and take a dip in her aunt and Uncle's pool. They didn't have a pool at her house just yet. Alvin was still trying to decide whether he wanted a normal backyard pool, or try to get one installed on their roof somehow. "Okay, final check. Sun screen, check. Bathing suit on, check. Towel, check. Sandals, check. And dive goggles to make sure that I don't get water in my eyes, check. Alright, I'm ready to go." Eliza headed down stairs. "Bye mom!" She yelled as she ran past the kitchen and headed for the door. "Where you going?" "Out! I'll be back in a bit." "Okay. Take your phone though." "Okay!" Eliza stopped to pick up her phone and then headed out the door. "Where do you think she's going?" Katrina asked. "Eh, she's probably going to visit Libby or something." Meanwhile, Tom was watching a samurai movie on his portable dvd player outside on the back deck of the house, which just so happened to over look the pool. About ten minutes, the man from the pool cleaning company had left after treating their pool. Tom found looking at the crisp blue water relaxing, even though he couldn't swim in it just yet. All of a sudden, Eliza burst through the side entrance to the deck. "Oh, hey Tom." "Uh, Hi Liz. What are you doing here?" "It's hot today, so I'm gonna go for a swim. Remember? Uncle Cash and Aunt Katrina said i was always welcome to come over and use the pool whenever I like." "Ah, okay....wait a second." What Eliza was about to do dawned on Tom just in time for him to stop her. "No!" "What?" "You can't go swimming today." " Why not?!" "Cause I said so." "It's not your pool!" "It's my house, so my rules. And I say, you can't go swimming today." Eliza got quickly fed up with Tom and made a break for the pool, just to spite him. Tom grabbed her in time and pushed her over to and then out the side entrance. He then locked it. "Let me in!" "No!" "But I wanna go swimming!" "Tough!" "You jerk!" "Whatever. Just get out of here." Eliza left in a huff. "Stupid Tom!" Eliza shouted as she charged into her house. " I can't believe I thought he'd become the new uncle Cash!" "What's wrong, Lizzy?" Katrian asked. "I went over to your house to go swimming, and Tom wouldn't even let me dip my toes in." "He wouldn't let you in the pool?" Brittany asked. "No!" "Well, he had a good reason Liz." "Huh? What reason? Other than just to be a jerk." "Today was our monthly pool treatment. Matter of fact, f i remember what time the guy said he'd be there to treat it, then it wasn't that long ago. So, all those chemicals still would've been floating around in there. And, if they got on your skin, well, let's just say that, pink wouldn't just be the color of your clothes. It'd be the color of your skin, cause those chemicals can damage unprotected skin." "So, in his own way, Tom was protecting me. He didn't want me to get burned by the pool treatment chemicals." "That's right." "Wow, i guess he has changed. But, i still wanna go swimming." "Hmm.I have an idea." Brittany said. "lay it on us, mom.' 'well, how about, after church tomorrow, we get everyone together and, instead of going to Grandpa Xavier's for lunch, we go to the beach?" "The beach?!" "Yeah, it's supposed to be nice tomorrow, so why not?" "That's sounds like a great idea, Britt. And, according to the news report I saw this morning, the surf is supposed to awesome tomorrow." 'Well, that'll mean that Tom will wanna come." " And rex too." Eliza said. "Rex loves surfing just as much as Tom." "Well, hey, why don't we invite Harry and Char and their kids too?" Brittany said. "Can we?" "Sure, why not?" "Alright, tomorrow is gonna rule!" "It sure will. Come on Kate. If we're gonna do this tomorrow, then we got some phone calls to make."


	143. Chapter 143

New munks

firing line

"Come on, Lizzy! Let's go!" Alvin called. "Coming!" Eliza jumped down stairs and jumped high enough for the skirt of her Sunday clothes flew up. Alvin could see that Eliza had her bathing suit on underneath her clothes. "Well, you look ready." "Uh huh." "Got your suit?" "Huh?" "Your bathing suit." "No." "Uh huh. Then why did I see it under your skirt?" "What?! How did you see that?" "Your skirt flew up as jumped down." "And you looked?! Daddy!" "Well, it was kinda hard to avoid looking when happened about three inches away from my face. Or did you not notice how close to me you landed?" "Uh.." Eliza then looked at how close she was standing to her father. He was spot on. Three inches of space was all that separated them. "Um, well, is it a crime to wear my bathing suit underneath my Sunday clothes?" "No." "Then why are we even talking about it?" "Because I love poking fun at you." "Daddy!" "Hey, you need to be picked on and there's nobody else to do it." "But still.' Eliza turned her back to her father. Alvin smirked and knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hey, you know I only poke fun at you cause I love you, Lizzy. But, if it bothers you that much, I take it back." Eliza turned around. " That's what I wanted to hear." Eliza patted her father on the head like he was a dog. 'Good daddy.' "What the?" Alvin said. "Man, Alvin.' Alvin turned around to see his wife. "What?" "You just got one-upped by our daughter. You got one-upped by a nine year old." Brittany laughed. "Hey!" "I'm sorry, honey. It's just so funny." Eliza began to laugh as well. "Your laughing at me too?" "I'm sorry daddy but, mom's right. It is really funny." Alvin turned around silently and headed for the door. "Uh oh. You think he's mad at us now, mom?" "I don't know." Mother and daughter looked at each other with looks of worry and then ran to Alvin. "Wait, Alvin!" Both girls hugged Alvin. 'Please, don't be mad at us." "Yeah, we're sorry, daddy. We love you. We're sorry." Alvin then patted his wife and daughter on their heads. "What?" both girls said. 'Good wife, good daughter." Alvin laughed to himself. He walked towards and then looked over shoulder. "Looks like I win this one. Now, come on." "He got us. He got us both." Eliza said. "Yep. Your father's good at this little game of ours. Looks like he wins. Now, come on. We gotta get going." "Right." later on. "Hey, guys, you wanna sing this?" Alvin asked the family, pointing to a song in the hymn book on his lap. "Which one is that?" Simon asked. "Page 216." The others grabbed the song books in front of them and opened to the page. "Hey, yeah. That's a good one. Let's do it." Cash said. "Mom, you wanna join us?" Simon asked. "Okay." "Alright, now we wait for the reverend to open the church up for testimonies and songs." Cash said. As soon as the reverend did so, all the older munks stood up. " Yeah, we've got a song." Alvin said. ' Alright, this'll be good." They heard someone behind them say. "Alright, go ahead." The reverend said. "Um." Vinny said. "What is it, mom?" Simon asked. "I'd like to say something before we sing." "Well, go right ahead, Vinny." The reverend said. "Well, I didn't say anything about this last week but, um, I'd like to thank the lord for what he's done for my family recently. I won't go into details but, let's just say that we've had rough way to go for the past while and, I'd like to just say thanks to the lord for giving us the strength and skills needed to get through it. And, I'd like to thank all our friends here who prayed for us. That's all." "Okay, that was very nice, Vinny. I'm sure the lord was more than happy to help you. Now, what page are you singing from?" "Page 216." cash said. "Alright. Go ahead." "Everybody join in if you feel like." Cash said before they started. "If you're in the battle for the Lord and right. Keep on the firing line. If you win, my brother, surely you must fight. Keep on the firing line. There are many dangers that we all must face. If we die still fighting it is no disgrace. Cowards in the service will not find a place. So keep on the firing line. (chorus)Oh, you must fight, be brave, against all evil. Never run, nor even lag behind. If you would win for God and the right. Just keep on the firing line.(end chorus) God will only use a soldier he can trust. Keep on the firing line. If you'll wear a crown then bear the cross you must. Keep on the firing line.( repeat chorus)Life is but to labor for the Master dear. Help to banish evil and to spread good cheer. Great you'll be rewarded for your service here. So keep on the firing line.( repeat chorus)When we get to heaven, brother, we'll be glad. Keep on the firing line. How we'll praise the Savior for the call we had. Keep on the firing line. When we see the souls that we have helped to win. Leading them to Jesus, from the paths of sin. With a shout of welcome, we will all march in. So keep on the firing line." Everyone clapped. After the service, everyone going to the beach was gathered out front. "Okay, everybody got everything they need?" Simon asked. The other munks, and family, all nodded. "Harry, Char, you got what you and the kids need?" "Look at our car, Simon." Charlene said, pointing to the near by car. Simon looked. There were three surfboards placed on top of the car and he could see that the trunk was full. "Yeah, I'd say you've got everything." "Hey, Jay, Jerry, Jesse. You guys wanna come with us?" Alvin asked. "What do you say, ladies?" Jesse asked Juliet, Kelly and Heather. The three women looked at each other and had some sort of silent conversation where they spoke to each other with just the looks in their eyes. "Sure, but we'll have to go back home and get everything." Juliet said, speaking for everyone. "We'll meet you there then." "You guys better save some surf for me!" Little Cash said, getting up in Tom's face. "No way man! Rex and I are gonna shred all the best waves, and then Tony, Ben, Zack and Jake are gonna take the good waves. We'll save whatever's left for you." "Whatever. All I know is that there better be a few good waves for me to ride when I get there." "Then you better hurry and get to the beach!" "Drive, dad, drive! I think Tom's serious!" Cash said as he got in the car. "Come on, let's get a move on." Alvin said. The munks soon arrived at the beach. The twelve young munks all rushed into the changing rooms on either side of the entrance to the beach, and then came bursting out about three minutes later. They shoved their clothes into their parent's hands, the boys grabbed their surf boards, and then they all made a mad dash for the water. They reached the top of the small set of stairs that lead to the beach and stopped. "Holy cow!" Tom shouted as he watched the waves. "Look at those things!" Rex said. Tom dropped to his knees, stuck his arms out, and raised his head to the sky. "Oh, Thank you, Lord! Thank you for this bountiful supply of awesome waves!" "Come on, let's shred Tom!" Rex said. "Right, let's go." As Tom and Rex dashed for the water, the rest of the male chipmunk children stood in awe of the waves. "Man, those things are huge!" Ben said. "Yeah." Jake said. "Man, it'll really hurt if we wipe out on one of those." Tony said. "Come on guys!' Tom yelled. 'Then just gotta make sure we don't wipe out. Now let's do it!" Zack said. The boys were all mere feet from the water when Miss Miller called. "Hold your horses boys!" "What is it Grandma?" " You've gotta come and put your sun block on." ''sigh' Fine. But, please, put it on us fast."

New munks

What do we do now?

Tom and the other boys tried to sit patiently while they had sun block. "Come on, mom. Hurry up." Zack said. "I'm going as fast as i can, honey." Tom looked at the waves. "Hmm." He said. Eliza heard him. "What are you hmming about, Tom?" She asked. "I was just thinking." " About what?" "I was just thinking about how awesome it would be to catch a wave big enough to carry me from Hollywood to, I don't know, uh, New York." "Well, first, i don't think that's possible. And secondly, think about how much it would hurt if you wiped out on wave that big, Tom." Tony said. 'He sounds exactly like Uncle Simon." Eliza said. "So what? You can't deny that I've got a point." "Yeah, but still, to ride a wave from California to New York, man." "Hey, wasn't there a song that talked about that? About surfing across America?" Jake said. 'Yeah, there was. It was called Surfin' USA, and it was sung by the beach boys." Helen said. "Oh yeah, i remember that one." Tom said. "How'd it go again? Um, oh yeah. If everybody had an ocean, across the U.S.A. Then everybody'd be surfin', like Californi-a." The other kids were draw in. "You'd seem 'em wearing their baggies." Tom continued. "Huarachi sandals too." Eliza said, crossing her legs to show off her own sandals. "A bushy bushy blonde hairdo." Olivia said, pushing up on her hair. "Surfin' U.S.A." Helen finished. Simon looked up. "Uh-oh." 'What?" Alvin asked. "The kids are singing." "So what?" "Well, now they'll never stop." "Again, so what?" "if they keep singing, they'll draw a crowd and then we won't get to enjoy our day at the beach." "Simon." Alvin, Cash and Theodore groaned. "Would it kill you not to worry about something for just one day?" Alvin asked. "I'm not worried. Not one bit. Let the whole beach come." Simon said. "I think that would be a good thing. I mean, if they ever wanna take over for us, then they've gotta get some more experience performing in front of a big crowd. That way, they can become the chipmunks, but not be looked at as just kids taking over the family business. They'll be looked at as a brand new rendition of the band. The Chipmunks reloaded if you will." "Wow, Theo. That makes a whole lot of sense. I never thought of it that way. I take back what I said. I'm not worried about a crowd gathering. In fact, i hope it does. It'll be good for them." "That's the spirit, Sy." Alvin said. A few minutes later, a thought popped into Alvin's head. "Hey, Cash?" "Hmm?" "Let me ask you something.' "Okay." "Well, now that the group's not a problem anymore, we're gonna have a lot of free time on our hands." "And?" "Well, i was just wondering. What are you gonna do now? I mean, we've got lots of time now. So, other than continuing on with the band, cause I know we're all gonna keep doing that, are you going to do anything else? Some kind of side project maybe?" 'Hmm, well, i never thought about it. What about you guys?" "I don't know" Me nither." Simon said. 'Well, maybe we should try to do what we saw through Simon's time machine that one time.' Theodore said. "Remember? Jeanette and Simon had won nobel prizes, Ely and i owned a club, and Alvin was getting an award. Maybe we oughta try to make some of that stuff happen." "That doesn't sound like a bad idea. Yeah, i think you guys should go for it and do those things. But, what should I do? Hmm, oh! Hey! Maybe I could open a kendo and martial arts academy." "That sounds like a great idea, honey. I'll help you." Katrina said. "Thanks, Honey. Yeah, together, we'll bring the samurai into the twenty-first century."


	144. Chapter 144

**New munks**

**Baby sitter**

**(Two days later) "Oo, hello. What do we have here?" Eliza wondered out loud. She was watching TV in her room. Currently, she was watching the home shopping network. An expensive necklace had just been shown. Eliza sat entranced by the piece of jewelry. "Oh, man. Look at that thing. A twenty carrot gold chain. Man, look at that craftsmanship." Then, the woman advertising the necklace said something that made Eliza's eyes nearly burst out of her head. "And I can put my birthstone in it?! Oh man, I've got to have it! I can hear it calling my name. How much is it? Ninety-nine dollars plus tax? That sounds doable. Where's my purse?" Eliza located her purse on her dresser and began to dig. "Ah, Crap! I'm out of money. When did I..." Eliza looked down at a large, partially empty bag of clothes that laid next to her purse. "Oh, right. I blew all my money on these clothes when I went shopping with mom and Libby yesterday. How could I have forgotten that already? Man, that was a good sale. But, it left me with no money. Oh well, I guess I've got no choice but to visit the first national bank of my dad." Eliza left her room and headed down stairs. She turned the corner and entered the living room, where she found Alvin reading the morning paper, even though it was mid-afternoon. She walked up to him. "Hi, daddy." "Hi, Lizzy." "Anything interesting in the paper today?" "No, not yet." "Um, what about the money and marketing section? Anything good in there?" 'I haven't gotten there yet." "Oh, okay. I was just wondering." Alvin cocked an eyebrow the second his daughter said the word wondering. He had smelled something fishy from the moment she started talking to him, but that one word clued him in. He knew exactly what she was up to now. "Lizzy?" "Yes, daddy?" " I know you better than this, and we've been through this act a thousand times. So, just drop the charade and tell me what you want and how much it costs." "You caught on, huh?" "Yeah. So? What do you want?" Eliza told him the what she wanted and how much it cost. "Is that all? Okay, that sounds fair enough." "So, you'll really give me the money?!" "Sure. Anything to make my little girl happy." "Oh, thank you, daddy." Alvin smiled and reached into his back pocket. He pulled out his wallet and opened it. He began to count his money. "Uh oh." "What?" Eliza asked. "I'm sorry, honey. I don't have that much. I guess I spent more on the groceries than I thought when I went to the store this morning."." Eliza looked saddened. "Hey, hey. Don't be said. Tell you what. I'll go to the bank and draw out what you need." "Actually, Alvin honey, I have a couple of better ideas." Brittany said, walking into the room from the kitchen. "Oh, you were listening?" "Of course. I was only in the other room." "But you were talking on the phone." "I can do more than one thing at a time, honey. I was watching TV too." "Okay, honey. I wasn't doubting you. So, you said you had some better ideas, what are they?" "Well, for starters, Liz honey, do you remember that check Grandma Seville gave you for Christmas?" "Oh, yeah. She couldn't think of what to get me and she didn't have enough cash, so she wrote me a check. Yeah, I remember it. I haven't used it yet either." "Exactly. I've still got it in the back of my check book. I looked at it the other day. It's for exactly fifty dollars." "But that's not enough." "I know. That's where my other idea comes in. See, I just got off the phone with Margie." "Your hairdresser?" "Uh huh. She told me that her and her husband would like to go out tomorrow night, cause it'll probably be their last chance for a while." "Why?" "Because Margie is nine months pregnant. She's due any day now. So, she wants to go out and enjoy herself one last time before the baby comes and she devotes all her time to it. The only problem is that she can't seem to find a baby sitter for their first child, bobby. He's particularly hard to deal with, she said, it's just that babysitters seem to be in short supply these days. So, here's my idea. Why don't you baby sit bobby? I mean, he's only five years old and you can handle little kids. I've seen you do it. Besides, she said they want to go out for at most four hours. You surely handle that. And she's willing to pay whatever the baby sitter asks. You could ask her for the other fifty dollars you need for that necklace I heard you want. And then, your dad and I will cover the taxes and shipping. What do you say?" "Hmm, well... I guess it would be okay." "Is that a yes?" "Yeah. Sure. Why not?" 'Alright then, I'll go call Margie back then." Eliza sat down on the couch next to her father and turned on the TV, immediately flipping it to the home shopping network. The ad for the necklace was still on, so she checked the sold and still in stock numbers. "They haven't sold any yet. That's good. Maybe that means that some will still be around after tomorrow night. I'd better write down the item number so I can order one later." Eliza picked up a nearby pen and asked Alvin if it was okay for her to write on a section of the newspaper he was already finished with. "Sure. Go ahead, baby girl." "Thanks, daddy." Eliza wrote the number down. "Your very serious about this, huh?" "I'm always serious about stuff like this, daddy.' "yeah, I guess you are. Just somebody else I know.." Alvin said, glancing toward the kitchen. Alvin then looked back at his daughter. "You know, I'm proud of you, Liz. Your doing Margie and her husband a big favor." "Yeah, I guess." "Something bothering you, Lizzy? You don't sound right." "No, nothing's bothering me. Um, hey, daddy?" "Hmm?" "Did I hear mom right? Did she say that Margie is expecting another baby?" "Uh-huh. Any day now." "Um, how does bobby feel about it?" "Well, I don't know. Your mom never said anything about that. I guess she never asked." "do you think he likes it? You know, the fact that he's gonna be a big brother?" "Well, that's hard to say, honey. I've never met the kid." "Oh, I see.' Alvin felt like something was bothering his daughter, but she wasn't going to tell him what. "Are you sure your okay, Liz?" "I'm fine. I'm gonna go back to my room. Call for me around dinner." "Um, okay then." Later on, Eliza was talking to Olivia on her cell phone. "And your gonna baby sit tomorrow huh? Well, good luck." ' Thanks, Libby. Uh, can I ask you something, Libby?" "Yeah, sure." "Well, this kid bobby, the one I'm going to baby sit tomorrow, is going to be a big brother really soon." 'Uh-huh." "Well, after I heard that, I got to thinking about my situation. Now, I've weighed the pros and cons, and I've realized that having a little brother or sister would be a good idea but..." 'But what? Are you still thinking your not ready?" "No. Well, kind of yes and no. I mean, I'm ready in the sense that I know it's a good idea and I'm almost willing to accept but, I have two problems stopping me." "What are they?" "Well, for one, I don't know if I'd be good at it." "Are you kidding me?! Eliza, you'd be great at it!" "You think so?" "I know so." "But, I'm not like you." "You don't have to be. Just be you and you'll be fine. I mean, I look at you like an older sister at times. If you inspire feelings like that in your cousin, how do you think you'd affect an actual little brother or sister?" "Good point. I am pretty cool." 'Yes you are. Now, what's your other problem?" "well, how do I say this? Um, I'm held back, because I, hmm, oh, because I don't know what it feels like? What does being big sister feel like, Libby?" 'Hmm, well, that's a little hard to say. Um, well, you know a little sibling is going to love you and what not, and be your friend, but there's more to it. It gets deeper. How do I put it? It feels like that person needs you." "Needs you?" "Yeah. I mean, like, take Ben and me. Whenever he finds himself in a situation where he doesn't know what to do, and he can't talk to mom or dad because they aren't around, then he turns to me. He looks at how I take care of things, and tries to do the something similar." "Like a role model.' "That's it! I knew there was a term for it, but I couldn't think of it. Right, a role model. Even though I'm only one year older, I'm still his older sister and thus role model. He looks to me when mom and dad aren't around. And, well, at times, and I know this'll sound weird but, it just feels like I'm kind of a second mom to him. I've seen him look at me with the same respect he shows mom. So, I guess you could say that an older sister is a needed, respected, and of coursed loved, role model, and at times mother figure." "A mother figure." Eliza said solemnly. "Oh no, don't you start." "Huh?" 'I heard your tone. Now your wondering if you'd be a good mom, right?" "Well, yeah, now that I've heard what you said." "Well, don't. I know you'll be an awesome mom. You may even be a better mom than your mom. But, if your still unsure on that, you know what's good practice?" "No." "Being a big sister. A lot of things I know about taking of kids, I learned from taking care of Ben. I'm sure the same for boys. Taking care of Helen, even though she might not need at times, is still good practice for Tom's future role as a dad." "I see. But, now that I know what being a big sister is supposed to feel like, how do I get some experience with it? I mean, I want to feel it before I actually take the plunge, so I have some experience to go off of." " I didn't need any experience." "Well, you kind of didn't have a choice either." "True but, still. I've never had any previous experience, and I'd say I'm doing just fine." "Yeah but, your also a faster learner than me. Our test scores from school prove it. You can dive into something and pick it up and get good at it, and it's still the first time you've ever done that thing." "Well, you know what they say, practice makes perfect." "Yeah but, as you know, I just don't work that way. I wish I did. I mean, why do you think I needed the extra credit assignment that got me introduced to Debbie in the first place?" "Good point." 'Please, Olivia, you've got to tell how to get some experience with this. Where do I go? What do I have to do?" 'I'm sorry, Liz. I can't tell you that, cause I don't know. But, as the saying goes, where there's a will, there's a way. And, sense you've got plenty of will, there has to be a way. But it's up to you to find it. Oh, I wish I could be more help to you, Liz." "No, no, it's okay. I can't expect you to have all the answers. I obviously wish you did, but I'm not going to hold it against you. I guess it's up to me. Wish me luck." "Good luck. And, hey, they say that if you want something badly enough, you'll get it eventually. Just keep wanting that feeling, and you'll get your experience." "Thanks Libby. Uh, can I ask you one last thing?" "Sure." "Where do you keep getting these sayings? I mean, you've said three in the last few minutes. Where do you get them from?" "Mostly from Grandpa Dave. He's always quoting old sayings like that. You'd learn some too, if you'd take the time to listen." "Is that supposed to mean something?" "No, no. Just a little advice. Well, I hear mom calling for me. I'd better go see what she wants. I'll see you later. Night." "Night." Meanwhile. "Bobby." "Yeah mom?' "Your dad and I thought we should tell you we're going out tomorrow night. I got of client/friend of mine's daughter to baby sit you. Her names Eliza. Promise you'll be good to her." "Yeah, sure. Whatever you say, mom."**


	145. Chapter 145

New munks

Bobby

( the following night) "Are you ready to go yet, Liz?" Alvin called. Eliza emerged from her room and then jumped down the stairs. "I just got done with what I was doing. Let me take my phone off the charger and I'll be ready to go." Eliza ran over to her phone charger, unplugged her phone and then waved to Alvin to signal that she was ready to get a move on. Alvin grabbed his keys and yelled to Brittany that they were leaving. 'Hold on, Alvin!" Brittany called. She ran into the room, desperately digging through her purse. She found her pocket book and pulled out twenty bucks. She then gave it to Eliza. "Here honey. Margie will probably leave something for you and Bobby to have for dinner. Don't eat it. Margie is a notoriously bad cook, but she can't resist the urge to cook something when a guest comes over. I don't care how you get rid of whatever she makes, just do it well and then act like you two ate it when she got back. But, before that, order a pizza. It'll be a pain to hide the box from her, but trust me, you want to order a pizza." "um, don't you think your being a little mean, honey? She is your friend after all.' Alvin asked. "I'm a mom first and a friend second, honey. I'm more worried about what my daughter is eating, than I am about my friend finding out about what I think about her cooking. And besides that, Margie's a mom too. She'd say the same thing about me if I ever cooked for bobby." "But your a good cook mom." "I know, honey. I don't like to boast but, I know I'm better than her. But don't breathe a word of this to her, otherwise, the next time I go into her shop, I may come out with purple hair." 'Right. But, what should I say if she sees the pizza box before I can hide it." "Umm.. Oh! Tell her you dropped whatever she fixed and had no choice but to order a pizza." 'Okay." Alvin could only shake his head. Brittany saw this and said 'What?" "Your being mean to your friend." "Ah, this is nothing honey. Margie and I rip on each other all the time. It's why we're such good friends. We both poke fun at each other, but never insult each other." "Um, but, isn't everything you just said technically insulting her?" "Honey, you have no idea how far Margie and I have pushed the teasing envelope. This is nothing. Trust me. And if you don't trust me, then ask Ely, Jean or Kate." "Then why did you tell Liz to keep quiet about this, or otherwise Margie would give you purple hair" "Because, if she heard that I've been teasing her behind her back to my family, then she'd have to back at me with interest. Our teasing is all about one-upmanship. Who can get who's goat the worst?" "Um, okay, honey." "Look, it's just like what you and I used to do to each other before cash and Kate came along, and we turned out alright, didn't we?" "Yeah, but Cash doesn't go to your hair salon." 'No, but Kate does. She keeps us in line." " Thank God for her then." 'Uh-huh. Now, we've talked long enough. Let's get Eliza over there, now." Later. "Hi, Brittany." "Hi, Margie. This is Eliza." Brittany said, placing her hand on Eliza's back and pushing her slightly. "Hi." Eliza said. ""Hello, Eliza. You weren't bluffing, huh Brittany? You said she's the cutest little girl in town and I don't think your wrong." " I never kid about my daughter's appearance, Margie. Now, if I ever say that she can sprout wings and fly whenever she feels like it, then I would be kidding." "I'll have to remember that then. Anyway, I should introduce you to my son, Eliza. Bobby." Bobby came at his mother's call. "You rang?" Bobby asked. "This kid has seen too many hotel based movies." Eliza thought after she heard Bobby's comment. "Yes I did. Bobby, this my friend Brittany." "Hi." Brittany said. "And her husband, Alvin." "What's up?" Alvin said. " I know who they are mom. Everybody knows who the chipmunks are." "Okay, well, this is their daughter, Eliza. She'll be taking care of you while your father and I are out." 'Yeah, okay. Whatever. If anyone needs me, I'll be in the den playing video games." Booby then walked off. "Not very sociable, is he?" Eliza asked. "No, not really. I don't understand it. He's normally a good kid. But, lately, it seems like he's mad about something. And, whenever I try to talk about what's bothering him, he turns the TV up, or puts on his head phones or something like that. Anything he can do to avoid talking to me, he does. Do you think he's mad at me, Britt?" "I don't know, Margie. I'm not psychic. You want a mind reading, get Kate or Helen over here. All I know is that if your gonna enjoy your night out, then we'd better get a move on." "We?" "Yeah. Alvin and I are gonna take you out for a night on the town. This way, your guaranteed to have a good time, cause your looking at the king and queen of partying. And, on top of that, your husband doesn't have to drive at night. I know his eye sight isn't that good, but Alvin's is fine. Do you mind if Alvin drives, Robert?" Brittany asked Margie's husband. "Not at all. The less I have to do, the better." "Amen, brother." Alvin said, hi-fiving Robert. " Did you get that out of the 'lazy man's guide to life'?" 'I sure did. Man, that's a good book, huh?" "Sure is." Alvin said. "Says the man whose twenty-seven and still as hyper as a four year old." Brittany thought. "Well, we'd better be going." She then said. "Okay then. Bobby!" Margie yelled. 'What!?" Bobby yelled back from the other room. "We're going! Eliza's in charge while we're gone. Make sure you listen to her!" "Yeah, whatever!" Margie shook her head and then looked at Eliza. "Eliza, there's some food in the fridge for Bobby. I marked it. It's full of the vitamins he needs, so make sure he eats it." "Okay. But, um, what about me?" "Oh, I'm sorry, dear. I didn't know what you liked, so I didn't fix you anything." Brittany mouthed 'that's a good thing.' to her daughter behind Margie's back. This caused Eliza to smile. 'That's okay.. I know enough about cooking to be able to fix myself something. Um, do you mind if I use your kitchen?" "No, go ahead. The fridge and kitchen are open to you." "Thank you." "Alright, party peoples, I say it's time to book it." Alvin said. "Right. Bye honey. I love you." Brittany said. 'I love you too mom." "We'll be back in four hours Liz. Try to keep Bobby occupied." Alvin said. 'Just occupied? That insults my talents." Eliza said. "Okay, okay. Do whatever you like. Just don't tear the house down in the process." Alvin kidded. "Right, don't blow the house up." Eliza kidded back. Alvin smiled and then kissed the top of his daughter's head. "Bye baby girl. I love you." "I love you too daddy." "We're outta here!" Brittany announced as they walked out the door. Eliza waved good bye and then shut and locked the door. "Okay, babysitting a five year old. This shouldn't be too hard." Eliza walked into the den. "They're gone." She told Bobby. "That's nice." "Um, when do you wanna eat dinner?" "What time is it now?" Eliza looked at her watch. "Seven thirty." "Then eight o'clock." "Okay. I'm glad you said that. I'm hungry." "Yeah, you look like you should eat." "Huh? What do you mean by that?" "I mean your too skinny. You look to be about nine years old and, according to this website I found once, an average nine year old girl should weigh about fifty pounds. You look like you only weigh forty, maybe not even that." "Well, actually, I weigh thirty-five pounds." "See? Your underweight. You aren't one of those girls starve themselves on purpose are you?" 'What?! No!" "Oh, cause you look like you are." "Oh yeah. This is going to be a 'great' night." Eliza thought.

New munks

Decision

Eliza sat on the couch and watched Bobby play video games for the rest of the half hour until dinner time. "Okay, pause it. It's dinner time." 'Fine." The two got up and walked into the kitchen. Bobby sat down and Eliza opened the fridge. "Let's see. Where's that food Margie said she had set out for Bobby?" "Bottom shelf. Mom always puts that vitamin crud on the bottom shelf." Bobby responded, not evening looking towards the fridge. "Oh, I see it now. Thank you." "Whatever." "Now, where's something I can eat?" "Do you always talk to yourself this much?" Bobby asked. Eliza didn't answer. She only rolled her eyes. "Hmm, this looks good. I hope Margie doesn't mind me taking one of these cubed steaks. Ah, there's lots of them, so she shouldn't mind." "There you go talking to yourself again." Eliza tried to ignore Bobby again. But, Bobby was wearing her patience thin faster than anyone else. "If there was one thing Bobby's good at, it was getting on my nerves in as fast a way as possible. Not even Tom aggravates me this fast."" Eliza thought. She hoped she didn't lose it on the five year old. She grabbed the vitamin filed food and then the cubed steak package and then walked over to a trash can like box, marked potatoes. 'This thing has potatoes in it, right?" "Duh. Why would it say potatoes if it didn't have potatoes in it?" "I thought maybe I might be a novelty trash can or something. " "Surely, your not that stupid, are you?" Eliza gritted her teeth. "Stay calm, Eliza. Stay calm. He's just a punk kid. Just ignore him." Eliza thought. Eliza grabbed a decent sized potato off the top of the pile inside the box and walked over to the stove. "Dinner will be ready in a minute." "Whatever." Eliza quickly prepared Bobby's dinner and got to work on cooking her steak and baking her potato. As soon as she was done, she joined Bobby at the dinner table. For a while, they ate in silence. Until, eventually, Bobby spoke up. "I can't eat this!" He pushed the plate away from himself. "You can't? Why not?' "Cause it tastes like grass!" "Really?" Eliza dipped her finger into the mush like food and then put it in her mouth. "Ah, yuck! Your right! This stuff tastes like crap. I guess what they say is true. Everything that's good for you tastes terrible. How often does your mom make you eat this stuff?" "Every night." "Every night? My God. That should be considered cruelty to children." "You said it. My mom has me eat this so that I can, as she puts it, 'grow up big and strong.' But, as bad as this tastes, I sometime think she's trying to poison me." "Really? Well, that gives me an idea." "What?" "Watch." Eliza picked up Bobby's plate and walked towards the stove. "Are you gonna throw it out and order a pizza instead?" "No. Well, I could order a pizza. My mom gave me some money to do that. She told me your mom's a bad cook and she didn't want me to eat whatever she made. So, she gave me money to order pizza. Don't tell your mom I said any of that." "I won't. Her food is pretty bad. I mean, if you eat as much as dad and I do, you get used to it. Or, maybe your taste buds just go bad and you can't tell the difference. I don't know. But, I do know that anytime somebody who's not used to her cooking eats it, they have to force themselves to swallow it." 'Wow. Doesn't she have any cook books she can follow?" "She has tons of them. And, when she does follow them, and doesn't put that vitamin stuff in them, they taste fine. But, the problem with mom is that she can't resist putting her own spin on things. Now, that would be alright if she just changed one or two things in a recipe. But, she doesn't. She changes about five things and that makes it turn out all wrong. But, out of love, dad and I choke it down." "Wow. That's kinda mean and sweet at the same time." "Yeah, whatever. Are you gonna order a pizza now?" "No. I've got a better idea. See, I already told your mom that I'd make you eat this, but I never said I'd make you eat it as is. Give me a few minutes. I'll whip this crud into shape." Eliza went over to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of orange juice. "This'll give it some sweetness." She walked over to the cabinet. "Please be in here.. Yes! Cayenne pepper. This'll give it some kick." Eliza took the container of pepper flakes out of the cabinet and then grabbed a box of croutons as well. She intended to crush them and then use them as a sort of crunchy topping. She walked over to the stove, picked up a frying pan and got to work. She ended up turning the orange juice and pepper into a type of thin sauce, which she mixed into the 'vitamin mush'. She then crushed the croutons and sprinkled on top. She then brought it back to Bobby. "Ta-da. I present to you, Vitamin mush two point o." "Well, it definitely looks better." "Go ahead. Try it." Bobby tried a spoonful. "Well, it doesn't taste like grass anymore. I guess this is better." "And I guess that's the closest thing to a compliment that I'm going to get out of you, huh?" "Exactly." With that minor comment, Eliza had had enough. She had to say something. "You know, it wouldn't kill you to be nice to me. I've tried being nice to you since I got here, and you've done nothing but insult me. What's wrong with you?" "Nothing." "I seriously doubt that. You insult a complete stranger, and you don't seem to have any respect for your mom. Now, I may tease and play around with my mom and dad, but I'm never rude to them. I always respect them. But you.. Seriously, what is wrong with you?" " Nothing! Now, stop asking questions! It's annoying." Eliza knew Bobby was hiding something from her. She wanted to know what. Giving herself a second to cool off first, Eliza tried a nicer approach in hopes of getting information out of Bobby. "Listen, I'm sorry I snapped at you. I have no right to judge you. But, I really want to know, what's wrong? And don't say nothing. I already know your lying there." ' I don't want to talk about it. Besides, you look like the kind of person who'd go and blab the minute I told you." "Bobby, I promise you, whatever you tell me will not leave this conversation unless you want it to." "...You promise?" "Cross my heart and hope to die." "Well, okay then. I'll tell you. But, I don't know where to start." "How about why your mean to me?" "That's because I'm jealous of you." 'Jealous? Why? I mean, I know my family's rich and all but, I haven't been flaunting it." 'No, it's not because of that. It's because you get to stay an only child." " Wait, how'd you know I'm an only child?" "Well, if your mom and dad had another kid, wouldn't it be in the papers and on chipmunks fan sites in no time?" "Yeah, I guess it would." "Right, and I haven't seen anything that says they have, so you must be an only child." "Which is why your jealous of me. I see. You know, I was wondering if you were cool with being a big brother after I heard you were going to be. I guess your not, right?" "Right." "And, could I assume that that's also the reason why you seem to be mad at your mom?" "Yeah." "Would I be right?" "Yeah." "Okay. Tell me exactly why your mad though." 'Cause she didn't ask me! Neither her, or my dad, bothered to ask me if I wanted to have a baby brother or sister. Which I don't. I'm happy with just the three of us. I don't need any more." "Yeah you do, you just don't know it yet." "Huh?" "See, I'm in the same boat as you. Our circumstances aren't the same but, still, I'm with ya. The only difference is that my mom and dad are waiting for me to say okay before they try it, while yours just dove right in. And, I guess that'll make you even more jealous of me but, that's not what I'm trying to do for you here." "Then what are you trying to do?" " Well, I'm trying to tell you the importance of having a little brother or sister. See, a good friend of mine who's died giving birth to her, told something a while back. Something that really tugged at my heart. See, at that time, she had only her dad, and he didn't have a girlfriend or lady he was going to marry. What's the word for that again? Um.. Oh yeah, fiancé. He didn't have a fiancé he was going marry at that time. So, at that time, my friend wasn't going to get any little brothers or sisters. But, that didn't stop her from telling me something that really hit me. She said that I was lucky, because I still have both of my parents. And she said that I was lucky because I had the option to give the okay on getting a baby brother or sister whenever I wanted. But, when I told her that I didn't want one, because I was afraid that my mom and dad would be so busy with the new kid that they would forget about me and not love me as much, she said 'But, Liz, you need one. No matter how much you say you don't want one, you need one. See, no matter how tough, or how healthy your parents are, one day, they will be gone. One day, they'll get sick or hurt or, hopefully, just die of old age. But, in any case, they will die one day. They can't live forever. And, when they do pass on, you'll be all alone. Sure, you'll have your family to support you, but, really, is there anybody closer to you than your mom and dad?' I told her no. And so, she said 'exactly. Not even your future husband can be that close to you. After all, they gave you life. No one can top that. And because of that, emotionally, you'll be alone when your mom and dad die. But there is a bright side. You can ask your mom and dad to have another kid. A little brother or sister. Some one who can be there with you when your parents die. Some one who will be in the exact same situation as you. Only, this time, you'll make each other stronger.'" "Stronger?" "Uh huh. And, so you know, I asked her that same thing. "She said 'that's right, stronger. You'll be stronger because you'll have to be. You'll be stronger because you'll have someone who is depending on you for comfort, while your hurting yourself. And, in that moment, you'll have to dig deep and pull up a level of strength you didn't even know you had. And, from then on, you'll more than likely be able to call on that strength anytime you need it.' Since then, I've really thought about that. And you know, she's absolutely right. It would be best to have a little brother or sister, if only for that reason. But, little siblings offer more than that. And I asked my cousin Olivia, who has a little brother, exactly what those other things are. She said they offer constant love and friendship. Think about it. A friend who lives in your house. That sounds pretty sweet to me. But on top that, she told me about one thing they offer that's just plain awesome." "What's that?" "Respect. They respect you. So much so that you become their role model. When mom and dad aren't around, they look to you for inspiration when they have a problem. In a way, she said, you kinda become a second mom, or in your case dad, to them." "Wow, I never thought of it that way. That sounds pretty cool. But, they still should have asked me." "Yeah, they probably should have but, now you can see, it's for your own good." 'Yeah, I guess so." "So, are you cool with it now?" "You know what? Yeah, I am. Matter of fact, I think I'll make an awesome big brother." "That's the spirit. And just remember. No matter how busy they get, your mom and dad will always love you. Cause your special. Your their first born." 'Yeah. Hey, can ask you something?" 'Sure." "Well, first I wanna say I'm sorry for the way I've been treating you. Your pretty cool." 'Thank you. Now what did you wanna ask me?" "Well, I wanna know why, if your so cool with it, why don't have a little brother or sister?" "Because I'm the kind of person who needs to experience something, get a little taste if you will, before I can commit to it. And, so far, I haven't gotten that much experience with this big sister thing. My cousin Olivia told me that she sometimes thinks of me as a big sister, since I'm a few days older than her. So, that's something. But, it's not enough. I need more experience, so that I can be sure I'll be a good big sister." "Well, I think you'll be a great big sister, sis." "Sis?" "I mean Liz." Bobby looked up at Eliza with a clear look of embarrassment. Eliza smiled at him to ease his embarrassment and he smiled back. It was at that moment that Eliza felt something. "This is it! It's got to be!. It's exactly how Libby described. I feel respect and care from him. This is how it feels to be a big sister....I like it." She thought. Booby looked at her in confusion. "you okay?' "Huh? Yeah, I'm okay. Just had a brain lapse, that's all." "Oh yeah. I've had a few of those. Where your brain feels like it turns off for a second and you can't help but stop and do nothing? Those are real pains in the butt." "They sure are. :listen, about that sis comment, I want you to know, while I can't be your big sister, I can be your friend. If you want me to be that is." "I do." "Well then, we should be properly introduced. Hi, I'm Eliza Star Seville." 'And I'm Robert Donald Grayson the second. Nice to officially meet you." "Same here. Now then.." Eliza looked towards the den. "Do you wanna see a few cheat codes I know for that game in there?" "Oh, yeah!" ' Then let's go." A few hours later. "Here, try this code." Eliza told Bobby. Bobby entered the code while playing. "Whoa! All of the other cars just blew up! That's awesome!" "I know. I use it every time I play this game. Needless to say, I 'm not well liked in the online mode of this game but, hey, you gotta do what you gotta do to win the races." Just then, the door bell rang. "That must be them. Pause the game and come on." "Right." Eliza rushed to the door and unlocked it. "Hello, everybody. Welcome back." She said. "Thank you Eliza." Margie said. The four parents walked in. "Did you have fun?" 'We had a blast. That was the most fun I've had in a long time." Margie said. 'Glad to hear you enjoyed yourself." Margie set her purse down and then dug around in it. "Here you are, Eliza. Fifty dollars." "Thank you." "I hope Bobby wasn't too much trouble for you." "Not at all. We had a little bit of a rough start but, once we got to know each other a little better, we got along fine. By the way, I ate one of your cubed steaks for dinner." "Well, that's okay." "And I modified Bobby's dinner for him." "Really?" "Yeah. She made this sauce out of orange juice and cayenne pepper, and mixed it into that vitamin mush you keep giving me. Then she smashed some croutons and sprinkled them on top. That's the best that stuff's ever tasted." "Well, sounds like you really like Eliza now, huh?" "Uh-huh. She's my friend." 'She is? Well, that's good to hear." "Yup, I'm his friend. And Bobby has something else he'd like to tell you. Bobby." "Mom, I wanna tell you that I'm sorry. I've been pretty mean to you for a while and, I'm sorry. I was just mad cause you went and decided to have another baby without asking me about it first." "I see. But, honey you know everything we do, we do for you." " Yeah, i know. Eliza explained it to me. And now, I'm cool with being a big brother.' "You are? My, Eliza. Your not a babysitter, your a miracle worker." "I just do my job." "Well, we'd better go home." Alvin said. "Bye Bobby." "Bye Liz." On the drive home. 'Here's that twenty back mom." "You can keep it honey. You did good tonight. "Thanks. Um, can I talk to you and dad about something?" "Sure honey. What do you wanna talk about?" "One word: sibling."


	146. Chapter 146

New munks

More than meets the eye

The next day found Nikki visiting Tony at home. Tony and Nikki were watching Simon work on a project, while Jeanette was upstairs making lunch. "Hey, Mister Seville?" Nikki asked Simon. "You can call my Simon, Nikki." "Um, can I call you Sy instead?" "Huh?" "well, see, I don't like calling people, that I know personally, by their whole first name. I prefer nicknames. Matter of fact, I've never once called my brothers or my sisters by their whole first names. For example, to me, Roxy is Roxy, not Roxanne." "What about Holly?" Tony asked. "I call her Holl." "Holl, huh? Do you think she'd mind if I called her that?" Tony asked. "I don't think so. She seems to like that nickname. Anyways, I really prefer calling people by their nicknames, and I've heard your brothers call you Sy, so can I call you Sy, Mister Seville?" "Sure, I don't mind. If that's what you wanna do." "It is. Thank you." "And you can call me Jean if you want, Nikki." Jeanette said, coming down the stairs into the lab, carrying a large platter with everyone's lunch on it. Tony noticed that his mother was struggling to walk down the stairs and carry the platter at the same time. "You want me to help you with that Mom?" "No, thank you, honey. I've got it." "Okay. Be careful though.' "I'm being careful. Really, one could think that you have no faith in me." No sooner had Jeanette said than she slipped and began to fall. Tony and Nikki rushed forward. Tony stopped his mother from falling and Nikki caught the platter. "Well, that was embarrassing. I guess I should have let you help me, Tony. Thanks for catching me." "No problem, mom." "And thanks catching the food, Nikki." "No prob, mom." "Mom?' "I mean Jean!" "It's okay, Nikki. I don't mind. You can call me mom if you want. I don't have a daughter and, if I'm any judge of character, your planning to marry my Tony when you grow up, just like Roxy wants to marry Tom, right?" "Well, I'd like to. If Tony would want to marry me that is." "So long as you stay the way you are, as the nikki I know and care about, then I've got no objections." "Oh, thank you Tony!" Nikki hugged Tony. Jeanette couldn't help but smile. " Keep one thing in mind, Nikki." Simon said, not even looking up from his work. "What?" "We don't use the term in-law. So, Jean and I are gonna be your second mom and dad, not your not mother and father-in-law. So, don't call us that, okay?" ' No problem. I wasn't planning on it. You two have been too good to me for me to call you that. But, id o have a question. Um, mom?" Nikki asked. "Hmm?" "You said you don't have a daughter, right?' "Well, I do now." "Yeah, technically I'm your daughter now. But, I'm talking about a biological daughter." "Then, no. I don't have a daughter." "Right. Well, Tony once told me that he told you that he was cool with having a little brother or sister, and that you said you'd see about it once those group guys were dealt with. Well, those monsters are gone, and have been gone for a while. So, I wanna know, why haven't you tried to have another kid? Cause I want a sister on this side of my family to talk to. Not that I wouldn't like to talking to you mom. It's just that, well, I'm just used to there being three girls. So, if you had a daughter, then it'd be me, you and her, making the three. Do you understand what I'm saying?" "Yes, I understand. I'm used to having other girls around too. So, I can't say that I wouldn't like there to be three of us, it's just that..." "We have work to do." Simon said. "What? Work? Sy, nothing is more important than love and family. Absolutely nothing. Go ahead, check the quotes from Copernicus, or Aristotle, or even Confucius. I'm pretty sure none of them ever said that anything is more important than love and family." Simon just had to look at his future daughter in law. "What?" "Were on earth did you get all that?" "From my brain where else?" "No, I mean, how do you know about all those great philosophers?" "I'm smarter than I look. I know what your thinking. I seem to be Libby's counter part, so I should be more like her. Well, in case you didn't notice, Sy, your niece is pretty smart and so is her mom. So, logically, I can be smart too." "Your right, your right. But you know, all this time I thought you were just attitude." "Nope. I'm one of the smart ones. Me and Zack. Who do you think uses their brains to bale everybody out at my house? Cause it has to be somebody." "Okay, fair enough. I'll admit I judged you wrong, and for that I apologize. But, you have to admit, you don't show your intelligence all that often." "Well, I'm kind of like that Amadeus Cho guy from the hulk comic books. I'm really smart, but I don't like to show off my big brain when I don't have too." "I see. So that's that." "Yup, sure is. Now you know I'm one of the brainy ones. I may be the green wearing girl in my family, but I'm actually more like Helen than I am like Libby. Holly's the one who's the most like Libby. She likes to cook. But, all that isn't saying that we can't be friends. I love hanging out with Libby. We just switched the colors on you guys. At my house, the girl in green is the brainy one and the girl in blue is the cook." "Okay, Nikki. We get it." "Good. Now then, you have to answer me this. What in the world are you working on? What is so important that it would make you think that it's more important than love?" "This." Simon held up an old tablet. "What's that?" "A tablet from the twee-twee tribe." "Oh yeah. Libby's mom told me about them. You guys might be descended from them, right?' 'Yes, and you might be too. In fact, all anthropomorphic chipmunks may be descended from them." "I see. And they're the ones who first had the dark munks power right?" 'Exactly. I theorize that all descendants of the Twee-twee may be capable of using that power." "Which means that if we got the whole chipmunk half of our family to change, we'd have a super powerful army." Tony said. "But we're not out to create an army, son. We're scientists ,not military tacticians." 'I know dad. I'm just saying, that's what we'd have." "Well, that is true. Anyways, we've found out exactly how powerful that transformation can be, but we've also seen how dangerous it can be. You see, when we first started fighting the group, we battled Claus and Claudia Vorstein. They were a brother and sister diamond smuggling team that we had dealt with twice before in the past. Anyway, when we fought them, they had kidnapped our kids. So, of course, we came after them. One thing lead to another and they ended up trying to shoot our kids. Well, that caused us to snap and we turned into our dark munks form. We made short work of them. But, unfortunately, we didn't change back when the battle was over. We had gone without changing for so long that it was like there was a build up. And so, we had absolutely no control over ourselves until that build up was dealt with. We were so far gone that we attacked Dave, Miss Miller, mom and Xavier when they arrived, and we would never do that otherwise. When we heard that we had done that, we were horrified. And so, I decided to try to learn more, in the hopes that I could find a way to help us control the power." "And have you found it yet?" "I believe so. I discovered a story about the dark power in twee-twee mythology . Originally, I was just helping our cousin Les, who's an archeologist, decipher some old Twee-Twee tablets he had found in some ruins in Mexico. But, when I found this story, I had to read it. Apparently, there were many in the twee-twee tribe that were capable of using this power. Maybe around an eighth of the population. And, those that had this power, were believed to have been chosen by whatever 'gods' the twee-twee tribe believed in. They were seen as chosen protectors and were highly respected. For a time, all was well. Until, that is, those that had this power discovered a second level to this power. They discovered that, they could combine their normal and dark selves. This allowed them to use the dark power's incredible speed and strength along with all the skills they had in their normal states. In short, this new form was the dark form's body being controlled by normal state's mind. They called this new power 'the merged state', and very few were capable of it. In fact, if I've got figured right, only eight had this power. But, even though it was small number, it was still enough to make those that couldn't even use the basic dark power jealous. So much so, that it started a civil war. Many of the twee-twee died in that battle. But, when all was said and done, those eight that had the merged state's power reigned supreme. They became the new kings and queens of the tribe, and reigned well into their twilight years." 'Wow." "That's exactly what I said." Jeanette said. " I'll admit, I did too." Simon said. "And so, we decided to ask Les to find all the tablets pertaining to the twee-twee that he could and then send them to us. If this story was true, then we had to find out exactly what the kings and queens did to achieve the merged state. If we could find out what they did, then maybe we could use it to control our dark sides, so that we would never be a danger to those we love ever again." 'And, let me tell you, Nikki, the merged state does exist. My sisters and I have used it once and Simon and his brothers have used it twice." Jeanette said. "Cool. So, you know exists, so now you need to find out exactly how to make happen whenever you feel like, right?" "Exactly. So, you see, we do this out of love. We're still thinking about having another child but..." Simon started. "But we just don't want to do it while we may still be a danger to our family." Jeanette finished. "But, your not a danger, mom." Tony said. "We don't have to fight the group anymore, so you probably won't ever find yourselves in situations where you get angry enough to change again. So..." Nikki and Tony wrapped their arms around each and shouted "Have another kid already!" Simon and Jeanette were both obviously taken aback. "Forward, aren't they?" Simon asked. "Sure are." Jeanette said. "Sorry." Tony said. "It's just that, now that I like the idea of having a little sibling, I want one. More than anything I've ever wanted before in fact." "More than that microscope we got you for your sixth birthday?" Simon asked. "Yes! I can't wait to be a big brother!" "That's the spirit Tony!" Nikki said. "My. Well then, Jeanette, we'll have to pick ourselves a time to get to work on what our son wants, won't we?" "Yes, we will." Both parent munks began to smile at each other. Jeanette even began to blush. "Um, if you two want to make out, we can leave." Nikki said. Both parents quickly gathered themselves. "Ahem. Anyways, we can't be thinking about babies right now. Right now, there's work to be done. You know, if you two help me, this research could get done a lot faster." Simon said. "If you want us to help, Sy, just say so." Nikki said "Well, I wouldn't mind the help." 'Then we'll help you dad." Tony said. "And I'll go warm the food up. It must have gotten cold by now." Jeanette said. "Be careful mom!" Both kids cried. "I will." "Alright then you two. Pick a tablet and let's get cracking." Simon said. "Yes, Sir!" Meanwhile. "Okay, Tom. Time to begin training." "Yes, Sensei. But, Um, can I say something first?" "Go ahead." "I believe I'm ready to challenge you." "Really? Well, good. Then, this'll be your last Laido training exercise."


	147. Chapter 147

**New Munks**

**Set up to a show down**

" **Alright, Tom. It's time to get to training. We'll deal with your challenge tomorrow. Is that good enough for you?" "Of course, Sensei. I was about to say that I wanted to challenge you tomorrow anyway." "Good, good. Now, as for your training today, I've got something interesting lined up for you. Take a look at this." Cash pulled a strange looking dummy out of the corner of the training room. "What's that, Sensei?" "This is mechanical training robot. You see, I wanted to give you something to help you train, so I asked Jesse to build this." Okay but, um, why? I mean, I'm training just fine as is." " Because, while practice is important, all your doing right now is cutting air. A real enemy won't be so east to cut as air. You need to understand how the mass of who ever your fighting might affect your strike. Hence, we have this. When you hit this, you'll feel it, and you'll see exactly how much damage your doing. It'll give you real data on your how doing. Then, you can take that information and use it to adjust yourself according to how you want everything to go down." 'Ah, cool." "Yeah, I thought so too. But, that's not the half of it. It gets better, for there is a reason this called a mechanical training robot. It has motors installed in it that will cause it to rock back and forth at two different rates of speed. The first setting will simulate a fresh warrior, who is at ease and will start out at a decent speed. The second will simulate a warrior who has just come from battle. One who's blood is pumping and who's adrenaline is flowing. In short, one that will be moving as fast as he can. But, that's for later. We'll start with setting one, alright?" "Alright." "Okay then, let me turn it on and set to setting one." Cash flipped the switch on the back of the robot and then pressed the button for the first speed setting. The robot began to rock back and forth on it's small pedestal. "Alright, Agito. Let's see if I've trained my son as well as you trained me. If I have, then he should be able to hit this first speed setting in one try." Cash thought. "Okay, on my mark." Tom slid into position. "Three...two...one! Now!" Tom performed the laido technique and, as Cash had hoped he would, hit the dummy on his first attempt. "Very good, Tom. Look at what you did." Tom inspected the small gash he had inflicted upon the dummy. 'Whoa. Cool. I really did it." "Yes, you did. I'm very proud of you. Now then, do you want to take a couple more shots at the dummy on this speed, or do you want to move on to the faster speed." "The faster one, definitely." "Very well. Get into position." Tom slid into position. Cash went behind the machine once more. "If he hits this setting at all, it'll prove he's faster than me, cause this setting is the exact same speed that I move at when I'm giving it my all." "Alright. Once more on my mark. Three...two...one! Now!" Tom struck out. Cash watched the point of Tom's blade closely. If anything, he figured, it would be the point of the blade that would hit the dummy at this speed. Cash strained his eyes and saw that the point of the blade came within a fraction of an inch to the dummy's throat. This caused Cash to rub his own throat, since this dummy was essentially a stand in for himself. Cash stopped the dummy just to make sure he hadn't missed something. "Nope. Nothing." 'Ah man!" "Now, hey. Don't get discouraged, tom. I watched that move very closely. The point of your blade came within a fraction of an inch of the dummy's throat. It was moving that fast, and you still got that close. That's very impressive." "But I still didn't hit it." "Well, do you want to try again?" "Yes, please." "Alright then." Cash set up the dummy again and let Tom take his shot. Cash watched the blade's point once more. This time, he was sure he saw the point make contact with the dummy's chest. Cash stopped it's motor and checked for damage. "Tom, look at this. See this here? This little nick on the chest? That was from your last swing." "Whoa. You mean, I hit it that time?" 'Yup. You sure did. It's not a big cut, but you still hit it. Now, you can challenge me tomorrow." "Cool! I mean, that's good, Sensei." "Alright, well, since you've done this well, I say we cut training short today. This way, we'll be as rested as we can be for tomorrow. Now, go get changed out of your training clothes and get your sister. I feel like going out for ice cream." "Cool! Hey, Nell!" Cash chuckled to himself and then examined the dummy. "It took him two tries, but he still managed to hit this thing at it's top speed. And that's my top speed too. I guess, technically, he's already got me beat. Heh, way to go, son. Was this what you felt like when I beat you, Agito? I can only hope so, because this sense of pride feels amazing. But, I don't think this is quite enough for Tom. There's no doubt he'd beat me tomorrow in a straight up laido competition, and knowing him, landing a little knick on me like I the one I got on you, Agito, wouldn't be enough for him. I know he wouldn't want to seriously hurt me but, I also know he'd want it to feel like a great accomplishment. He's just that way. Maybe that's because of that little bit of Alvin I still see in him. Well then, I guess I need to satisfy that little bit of Alvin in him and give him a real challenge. So, I think I'm going to drop the laido competition and make it a real fight. What do you say, Agito? If you don't think that's a good idea, give me a sign right now." Cash stood for a moment. Nothing happened. "I thought so. Then that settles it, tomorrow, it's me versus Tom. One on one." "Daddy!" Cash heard Helen call. Cash poked his head out of the training room. "What is it, Nell?" "Can you please hurry up? I want some ice cream." "Well, somebody's feeling demanding today." "Daddy please! I read the ads this morning and it advertised that our usual ice cream shop is now selling blueberry ice cream. You know how much I like blueberry. So, please, hurry daddy!" "Alright, alright, Nell. Keep your shirt on. I'll go get changed and we're out of here." Cash looked at Tom. "Should I tell him what I want to do?...Nah. I'll let it be a surprise. A warrior always acts best when he has to think on his feet. And leaving it as a surprise will do that." "Huh? Something wrong dad?" Tom asked, noticing Cash's stare. "Not a think, sport. I was just thinking about something. But, that's not important right now. Anyways, I'd better go change." Cash went his and Katrina's bedroom, changed and returned o his kids. "Alright, let's go. Hey! I just got an idea. Since Kate hasn't come back from the grocery store yet, I think we should get her a cu of ice cream. What do you two think?" "That sounds like a great idea, dad." Tom said. "Ooo! Can I pick out the flavor?" Helen asked. "Sure. Why not? Now, we'd better get going. If we don't hurry, Nell's precious blueberry ice cream may be all gone by the time we get there." "NO! Daddy, quick! Go start the car! Tom, write mom a note telling her where we've gone, just in case she gets back before we do. Well, what are you standing around for?! Let's go!" Helen then ran out the door. "Well, you heard her, son. You write the note and I'll go get the car started." "Okay dad." 'Oh, wait a second Tom. I want to be sure that you know this. I want you to know, we're father and son today, but tomorrow, we'll be enemies. Don't expect an easy win tomorrow." "Dad, I'd be disappointed if you made it easy. So go ahead, make it as hard as you want. I'll take it on." tom said confidently. Cash rubbed his son's head. "That's my boy. Now, let's get a move on. Before Nell goes blueberry crazy." "Yes, sir!"**

**New munks**

**Father vs. Son**

**The next day. "Are you sure about this honey? I mean, your a grown man and he's a young kid." Katrina said. Cash had told Katrina what he intended to do last night. "He's taken on plenty of grown men, honey, and he's beat them too." "But were any of them as good or as fast as you are?" "Well, I can't say off hand. I wasn't there for every single battle. But, I think he'll do fine." "But, Cash.." "Kate, I promise you. I won't let him get hurt. If I hit him, it'll be with the blunt backside of my sword. It might knock the wind out of him for a second, but it won't hurt him. I'm not going to let him or myself get hurt. If we do, it's a total accident. But, I'll apologize in advance just in case." 'I still don't know about this, Cash." "Honey, have I ever done anything that wasn't what I thought was best for our kids?" "Well, no, You always have done what you thought was best." 'Right, and this is what I think is best for Tom. You've just got to trust me. And, if I'm wrong about anything that's gonna happen today then, um... Oh! Then you don't have fix me any meals or even acknowledge me for a whole week." "Well, alright. If your willing to go that far, I trust you. Just swear that neither of you will get hurt, or at least not seriously. Nothing more than a bruise or two, or even some small cuts. Swear it." "I already have, Kate." "Well, do it again." "Fine. I swear, neither me or Tom will get beyond a few nicks and scrapes. I swear, I'll contain this to the best of my ability." "Alright then, I trust you. After all, that's what marriage is about. Trusting each other. But, remember, if he gets a bad cut, it's no dinner for you for a week." 'Yes, honey. I understand." "Alright then. Well, you want an audience? I can call everybody." "Yeah, I think that'd be good. Please do that, if you would." "Alright, I'm on it." Cash looked up. 'Here we Agito. I hope I'm right about this." Meanwhile. "Because when I arrive, I will bring the fire. Make you come alive, I can take you higher." Tom sang as he prepared for today. Roxy had come over to spend time with him, having no idea that this was going to happen. She said she'd come back later, but Tom had asked her stay. So now she was watching him get ready. "Well, you sound confident." "I am." Tom said. "That's one thing dad always told me. One of the rules of the true warrior. Always believe in yourself." "Hmm, I see. Simple, but good, advice." 'Yeah but, something's nagging at me." 'Hmm? What?" "Well, I don't know how to describe it. What do you call something that's not quite a psychic power, but still kind of clues you in on the future." "I think that's called intuition." "Intuition huh? Wait, I thought only women had that." "Oh, no. Everyone has their own intuition. Women are the most famous users, but men have it too." "I see." 'So, your intuition is acting up?" "Yeah, I guess. I mean, I just feel like there's something else going on here that dad hasn't told me about, at least not yet." "Well, if your dad's involved, then it can't be all that bad, right? I mean, we're talking about your dad, one of the coolest guys I know, here. I doubt he'd ever even think of doing something bad to you. So, whatever this thing your sensing is, it has to be good, right?' "Yeah, your right. It's dad we're talking about. I have nothing to worry about. Now, can you help me finish getting ready?" "Sure." Ten minutes later, the whole Seville family was gathered. Cash and Tom stood ten feet apart from each other, in the center of the back yard. "Alright, let's get started.' Tom said, putting his hand on his sword and sliding into position. Cash held his hand up. "Wait a minute, Tom." "Huh? What's the matter dad? Don't tell me you've changed your mind." 'As a matter of fact, I have. But, it's a change for the better." "Huh? What are you talking about dad?" "Ah, I thought so. I thought that you might not have noticed it. Too worked up over today to pay attention I guess. O well, no harm in that. I'll just have to tell you, which I don't mind." "Well tell me then, dad. My sword arm's getting 'itchy' over here." "Don't worry, that itch will get scratched soon enough. Now then, you remember the training dummy from yesterday, right?' 'Of course, dad. It was only yesterday. My memory's not that bad." "Right, well, you remember how You competed against both of it's two speeds?" "Yeah." 'Well, did anything feel familiar about that second speed setting?' 'No, not really. Why? Was it supposed to?" "Well, yes." "oh, I'm sorry then dad. I didn't feel anything. What was the thing you wanted me to notice about the robot?" "I was hoping you'd notice that that second speeding setting had a lot to do with me." "Huh? A lot to do with you?" "Yes. You see, Tom, that second speed setting was based on my own top speed." 'Whoa! Are you serious?!" "Uh-huh. See, I started noticing how good you were getting a long time ago. Your rate of growth is amazing." 'Hey, didn't you say that Grandpa Agito once told you that?" "Yes, he did say that. But, I'd say he'd be even more impressed with your rate of growth. Now, let me finish." 'Okay." "Alright then, as I said, I noticed how good you were getting and how fast. I knew it would take very long for you to get as good, if not better, than me. And you are better." "What?! No way! There's no way I'm better than you!" "Remember the first rule of the true warrior, Tom. Always believe in yourself." "I do but, there's no way I can be better than you dad. Your the best." "But you are Tom. Your faster. Haven't you realized it yet? That dummy was rocking back and forth at the same speed I move at when I'm giving it my all. And you managed to hit it in just two tries. Not ten, not five, just two. Not to brag but, most people I've fought would need at least ten times as many tries as you. Meaning your ten times faster than them. Think about it. They'd need twenty tries to hit me, while you need just two. By the time they'd land one blow, you've already landed ten. There's no denying it, you are fast. Faster than me. And so, I've made a decision. I'm dropping the laido competition, for there's no doubt you'd win. And, that win would be too easy for you, and I know you wouldn't want it to be easy." "So, what are we going to do?" "well, you see, Agito once told me that, out of all the people he'd ever met, I was one of the ones he wanted to fight. He wanted to see how good I really was. Unfortunately, we never got to have that father versus son battle. That's a shame too, because I believe that probably would have been the most intense and the most enjoyable fight of my life. But, that was then, and this is now. Now, I'm the one with the chance to face off with my son, and I'm going to take it. I won't wait. After all, no one is ever promised tomorrow. You never know. I could go out sometime later today and get into a horrible car accident and not make it." 'Ah, man, Cash. Don't talk like that." Alvin said. "Yeah, we don't want to hear that." Brittany added. The other munks nodded. "I'm sorry, guys, but it's the truth. It could happen. And so, I have to take advantage of today, because I might not have tomorrow. And so, Tom, I've decided to change the rules of our competition. This'll be a straight up fight. We'll be using the backs of our blades to attack, so we don't hurt each other, but other wise, it's a real fight. But, I'm getting ahead of myself. It's still your challenge. These are my conditions, but it's your challenge. So, the choice is yours. Are you in or out?" Tom smiled confidently. "I told you to make as hard as you wanted, and it doesn't get much harder than this. This is going to rock! Let's do it." "Very well. Just remember two things. One, only use the back of your blade to strike. I already promised your mother that we wouldn't hurt each other, or at least not seriously." 'Okay, got it. What's the other thing I have to remember?" 'That this is a fight. And so, right now, we're not father and son, we're each other's opponents. We're enemies, so you'd better fight me like one." "Alright. I got it. Now, let's do it." Tom rushed forward and slashed at Cash. Cash deflected and returned with a swipe of his own. Tom dodged this. And so the fight began. Cash gave hi son no quarter. He attacked with all he had. Tom meanwhile, despite his outward confidence, was finding it hard to fight Cash like he was his enemy. The battle continued for ten minutes and Cash clearly had the upper hand. He had winded Tom several times and knocked him to the ground even more times than that. As such, Tom grew tired, while Cash still looked like he was at full strength. "What's wrong? I thought you wanted that guitar. Come on, fight. I'll get you two guitars, but only if you win. Now fight!" "I am." "No, your not. Your still seeing me as your father. You have to see me as your enemy. If you can't, you'll never win." "I really am trying." "Try harder." "I don't think I can." "Fine, I'll help you. Here's a question. Besides love, what emotion makes man stronger?" "Um..." 'Anger, Tom, anger. You have to get mad at me. You have to hate me." "But, your my dad. I could never hate you." 'But you have to. Come on, there has to be something. Think back. Haven't I ever done something that made you mad?" Tom closed his eyes and began to think. He went over every memory he had involving his father. Try as he might, he couldn't find one unhappy memory. "Darn it! There's nothing I can get mad at him about. But, if I can't get mad, I can't win. Come on, think. Man, this would be so much easier if he was someone else. Wait, that's it! Someone else. All I have to do is pretend dad is somebody I really don't like. Now, who's a good choice? Oh, I know. That guy Ian. He always did annoy me. That's it. That's not dad. That's Ian. And he's going down!" "Well, if you can't do this properly, then I guess I might as well end this. I guess you weren't ready after all." Cash walked over to Tom and raised his sword, ready to end the fight. "Better luck next time, kiddo." Cash swung down, but his blade did not meet soft flesh. It met cold, hard steel. "Dad, you know I love ya, but right now, I wish you'd just shut up." Cash smirked to himself. "He's got the fire. Now, let's see what he does with it." Cash thought. "Well then, shut me up." "Gladly." "Okay, think Ian. Dad's not dad. He's Ian and he's going down!" Tom fired off attack after attack, pushing Cash towards the back wall of the house. Finally, with his back against the wall, Cash tried to retaliate. But, Tom wouldn't let him. He smacked the back of his father's hand with the back of his sword, causing Cash to drop his sword. Tom then pointed his blade at his father's throat. "What are you going to do now?" Tom asked. "I can't do anything. You've disarmed me and your not going to give me the room to pull anything. So, you win, Tom. Congratulations." "Yeah, that's right. I win. I'm the best. I'm the.. greatest." Tom passed out. "Tom!" Everyone shouted. "Don't worry. He just passed out. He gave everything he had to win, like a real warrior would. Now, he needs a good rest. I'll go put him to bed." Just then, Larry came around the corner. "Oh, there you are Cash. Listen, I'm a bit bored. So, I was wondering if you'd care to go a few rounds with me in a little duel?" Cash bent down and picked Tom up. "Sorry, Larry. I'd love to fight you but, I just had a sword fight. If your willing to wait, I'll fight you tomorrow. But, if you want a real challenge, then fight my son here when he wakes up. Cause I'm not the best anymore, he is."**


	148. Chapter 148

New munks

Ben's desire

The day after Cash and Tom's duel, found Theodore and family having a lazy day, spent sitting around the house and not doing anything particularly difficult. Eleanor and Olivia were folding laundry in the living and Theodore was in the kitchen, making lunch. Ben, meanwhile, had just gotten off the computer, after having a good chat with Holly online. The way Holly had said goodbye made Ben think. She had said 'Well, I gotta go see what mom wants. I'll talk to you later. I love you, xoxo." Those last four letters were what got to Ben. He knew that that stood for hugs and kisses. Now, Ben got plenty of loving hugs from Holly, but she had never kissed him, at least not on the lips. That, coupled with the fact that he saw nearly all of his cousins, and even his own sister, kissing their respective chip punks partners, made Ben feel odd. For the first time in his life, Ben was jealous of his own family. "Why not me?" He wondered. "What am I doing wrong that everybody else is doing right? I mean, even Helen's kissed Jake on the lips. What's he doing with her that I'm not doing with Holly?" Ben racked his brain to see if he had missed something that he'd done wrong, hoping that he could fix it. But, to his knowledge, he hadn't done anything wrong. With a lack of results coming from trying to figure this out on his own, Ben decided to talk to someone else. To the only other man in the house, his father. Ben walked into the kitchen, to see his father putting uncooked hotdogs into a pot of boiling water. "Hey, dad?" "Huh? Oh, hey, Ben. Lunch will be ready in a minute. We're having hotdogs. What do you want on yours?" 'The usual." 'Ketchup, mustard and chili sauce it is then." "Hey, dad?" "Hmm?" " can I talk to you?" "Of course, Ben. That's what fathers are for. What do you wanna talk about?" "Girls." Ben mumbled. "Sorry, Ben. I didn't catch that. Can you speak up?" 'I said I wanna talk about girls." 'Girls huh? I see. Well, what do you wanna know?" "How do you get a girl to kiss you?" "Well, your mom kisses me whenever she feels like it." 'I'm no talking about you and mom. I'm talking about girls in general." "Hmm, well, be nice to them, of course, and compliments will always earn you a few brownie points with anybody." "I've tried that." " You have? I see. Wait a minute. Is this about you and Holly?" "...Yeah. I mean, I've done all I can for her. I've even saved her life but, nothing. I love her and she loves me but, she won't kiss me. And I just get sick and tired of watching everyone moving their relationships along, while I'm stuck. What do I do dad?" "Well, first, you have to remember that Holly is involved in this too. What she thinks about this matters too. See, son, there are two halves to a kiss. The boy's half and the girl's half. And, if one half isn't ready, it's not going to happen." "So, this is because she's not ready?" "Exactly." "Then how do I make her be ready?" "You can't, son. You can't just force people to do things they're not ready to do. She's her own person, and she has to become ready on her own because of that. You just have to be patient. Trust me, your first kiss is well worth the wait. The first time I kissed your mom, though it was on a dare from Cash and Kate, felt awesome. Though it only last five seconds, it felt more like five minutes. When you get your first kiss, and especially if it's from a girl you care about, time seems to slow down and it feels like you can take as long as you want to enjoy it. So, if you exercise a bit more patience, you'll get more out of it. The longer you wait for something, the better it feels when you get it. So, just be patient and wait for her okay?" "Okay. I'll wait. I just hope that I don't have to wait very long." "Well, you may not have to. After all, both of Holly's sisters kissed Tom and Tony when they were eight, and Jake and Holly's eighth birthday is next week." "Then, maybe after she turns eight..." "That's right. She might kiss you then. Yeah, eight years old sounds mature enough to handle normal kissing. So, just hang on a few more days and we'll see what happens." "Okay. Um..." "What now?" "Is there any particular way your supposed to kiss a girl?' 'No, not really. Just bring your mouth up to hers and lock lips. That's the way it's always worked for me and Eleanor." "Okay, I see." 'You know, Ben. If your not sure about your kissing abilities, you can practice on your hand. Here, I'll show you." Theodore showed his son how to practice kissing by using his hand. "Okay, I got it. I'll give it a try." 'Good." ''sniff, sniff' Hey, dad, do you smell something funny?" 'Now that you mention it, yeah, I do. What is that?" "I think it's coming from the stove." 'The stove? What would be making a smell like that on the...oh, no! The dogs!" Theodore rushed over and turned the heat off on the stove and then removed the pot and set into the sink. He then ran some cold water over it to cool everything down. "Oh, please be alright." Theodore lifted the lid and examined he hot dogs. "'phew' They're alright. Man, that was close. I didn't know you could burn hot dogs in boiling water." "Me neither." "Everything okay in there, Theo honey?" Eleanor called. "Just fine, dear. Um, lunch is ready so come and get it." "Alright, we're coming." "I'll prepare some chili sauce for you, Ben. Just hang on a second." "Okay, dad." Eleanor and Olivia walked into the room. Eleanor looked at the hotdogs. "Hey, these look great. Just like always." "Yeah, just like always." Theodore said nervously. "Anyways, put what you like on them girls. I gotta get some chili sauce ready for Ben." A few minutes later, the green clad family was sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying lunch. Suddenly, the phone rang. "I'll get it." Theodore said. Theodore walked over and picked the phone off it's wall mount. "Hello?" 'Theodore." "Oh, hey, Dave." Father and son chatted for a few minutes. It turned out that Dave was trying to get rid of some old things he no longer needed. He wanted to give a good bit of it to Good Will, but some of the things were heavy and he needed help to carry them down stairs. With the other munks, and Even the Talbot family next door, busy, Theodore was the only one he could call. "So, do you mind lending a hand, Theodore?" "No, of course not Dave. You know I don't mind helping you." "Well, I didn't want to tear you away from anything important.' "Like what? We've just been sitting around doing almost nothing all day. I'm completely free." "That's great. When can you be over?" 'In about ten minutes. I have to shower and change, since none of us have changed out of our pajamas yet." "Okay, I'll see you then.. Actually, now that I think about it, we might need more help. Could you ask Eleanor if she'd come help too?" "Of course. Ely?" "Hmm?" "Dave needs help moving some stuff out of the house, so he can give it to good will. He says that he might need both of us to do it. Do you want to go?" 'Of course I do. The man's practically my father too. Of course I wanna help him And the kids can come too. What do you say guys? You wanna go help Grandpa Dave out?" "Sure!' Both green clad children yelled. "Alright, Dave. It's a go. The four of us will be over in ten minutes." 'Alright, see you then." Theodore hung up the phone and then turned to his family. "Everybody finish eating. We gotta go get ready." "Right." Ten minutes later, true to Theodore's word, the four were walking up to Dave's front door. Olivia rang the door bell. Dave answered the door. "Oh, thank you guys for coming." 'No problem Dave. Now, what do we do first?"

New munks

The return of captain chipmunk

Theodore and Eleanor went about helping Dave carry the heavy items out of the house and down to the drive way. Meanwhile, the kids were going through the small items, sorting them into various piles and setting aside things they wanted, which Dave had told them they were more than welcome to take. Ben came across a medium sized box that had no label on it. He opened it to reveal a Zorro like costume and an old tape recorder, with a tape still inside and a pair of headphones attached. "Hmm, what's this tape say? 'Romantic help' huh? Did dad or one of my uncles use this in the past? To help them with their relationships with mom or one of my aunts? Well, if they did use this, it had to have worked. I've never seen anybody closer to each other than they are. Hey, maybe this can help me with Holly! Yes, it has to. It's called romantic help after all. I'm definitely taking this. The costume on the other hand. Hmm. Well, I guess I could use it for Halloween this year. Yeah, I'll just take this whole box.' Ben picked up the box and carried it out to Theodore's car. Eleanor saw her son come outside. "What's that, Benjy?" 'Just some stuff I want. Grandpa Dave said we could have whatever we wanted." 'That's true. I did say that.' Dave said. "Well, alright then. Put it in the back." "Okay." "Urgh!" Theodore groaned. "Ah, Theodore, what are you doing?! Your going to hurt yourself if you try to lift that on your own! Here, let me help you." Eleanor said. Eleanor helped Theodore lift the large dresser into the back of Dave's car. "'Phew' That was heavy. Thanks, honey." "No problem. I didn't want you to strain yourself." 'Well, I think we've earned a break. Let's go inside." Dave said. The three sat in the kitchen, each of them knocking back a can of coke, while the kids were in the den still digging through the little items. "I have to thank you two again. You've been a great help." "Hey, don't thank us yet, Dave. We aren't done yet." Eleanor said. "True, but still, you've been a big help. There's no way I could have done this on my own. So, thank you." "It's no problem, Dave. After all, we're family." Eleanor said. Dave nodded. " So, got any news you can give me?" He then asked. 'Well, what do you wanna know?" Theodore asked. "well, how about what everyone else is doing? I tried calling each of them before I called you, and none of them were home." "Well, I know Cash and Kate took Tom and Nell and went down to decorate Ms. Choy's grave. They should be back sometime tonight. Frankly, I say it's about time. I think it's been too long since Kate went to Ms. Choy's grave." Eleanor said. "I see. What about Alvin and Brittany, or Simon and Jeanette?" "I think Simon said yesterday that they had to go to the airport today and pick up another box of twee-twee tablets that Les found. So, that's probably where they are." Eleanor said. "They're still going over that? I don't see why. The group is defeated and the dark munks are no longer needed. So, why are they still doing research?" "Well, it never hurts to know about your heritage, Dave. I mean, your part native American aren't you?" "Well, yes. I'm part Cherokee." 'And haven't you ever tried to research the Cherokee a little?" "Yes." "Well, it's the same deal here. We want to know exactly what the twee-twee were like. They are our ancestors after all." "I see. I didn't think of that. Yeah, that makes sense. So, um, what about Alvin and Brittany?" "No idea. They never said they were doing anything today." "For all we know, they're either at the beach or in bed." Theodore said. "Hey, Theo honey, you don't think they're, you know, being intimate do you?" "No idea. But, since Brittany said that Liz said that she was cool with having a little brother or sister now, they very well could be." "But, they wouldn't do it while Liz was around would they?" "I don't think so. If that's what they're doing, then she's probably at a friend's house. No, wait, I take that back. Today's her harmonica lesson day, so she's probably there." "Well, if they are making another baby, I hope they're happy with the result." "Is any good parent ever unhappy to be having another kid?" Theodore asked. "I know I wasn't unhappy to hear that I was pregnant again when I found I was pregnant with Ben." "Me neither. And, I doubt Al and Britt would be any different." "Hmm, I guess your right. So, anything you can tell me?" 'Well, this girl, Alice I think her name is, who lives about six houses down from us got a horse for her birthday last week." Theodore said. "A horse?" "Well, technically, it's still a colt. It's not full grown yet. But, I've seen it and it's still pretty big. I guess you could say it's in it's teenager stage." Eleanor said. "I see. Does she know how to ride?" "Oh yeah. She rides that thing up and down our block all the time. She even stopped by and let Ben and Libby take turns riding it the other day." "Well, that was nice of her. Well, it think we've rested enough. Time to get back to work." "Right." Later that night, Ben played the tape in the recorder while he was sleeping, figuring that that would be the most help to him. After about an hour of listening to this tape, he rose from his bed and changed into the costume he had found with the recorder. However, he was still asleep. He was sleep walking and had changed into a whole new personality. Ben had become the second Captain Chipmunk. He opened his window and climbed down the gutter next to it to the ground. Since Theodore had forgotten to set the alarm before going to bed, Ben was able to get out of the house without waking anybody. Now under the control of the captain chipmunk personality, Ben made his way down to Alice's house and borrowed her horse. He then stopped by another house and picked a rose from it's front yard. He then rode towards Harry and Charlene's house, singing the infamous captain chipmunk song all the way. As he passed by Alvin and Brittany's house, Brittany heard him and then kicked Alvin. "Ow! Britt! What was that for?!" "You were singing that stupid captain chipmunk song, and you know I hate it." "But, Britt, I've been asleep this whole time. So, I couldn't have been singing." "Well, if it wasn't you, then who was it?" "I don't know." They then noticed that they could still hear the song in the distance. Alvin hurriedly turned off their alarm and Brittany threw open their bedroom window. She looked out and too the right to see a caped figure riding into the distance, and said figure was singing the song she hated the most. "I don't believe it. There's a second captain chipmunk." "Say what?" Alvin said, coming back into the room. 'There's a second captain chipmunk." "I see. I told you it wasn't me." 'Yes, and I'm sorry I kicked you honey. But, now I want to know who this new guy is." "Did you get a good look at him?" "No, not really. He was too far away. But, I did see his outline." 'And?" "Well, judging from the size of his outline, I know that he's too small to be you or any of the guys." "Then, maybe he's one of the boys. Quick, call Sy and see if Tony's in bed. I'll go call Cash and Theo." "Right." A minute later. "Ugh, hello?" Simon answered the phone. "Hey, Sy. It's Britt." "Brittany? Uh, it's the middle of the night. What do you want?" 'Could you go see if Tony's in bed?" "What? Why?" "Just do it, please." "'sigh' fine. Hang on a second." a moment later. "Yeah, he's asleep. He fell asleep in front of his computer again. What's this about Brittany?" 'Your not gonna believe this." Brttany told Simon the situation. "What?! But, i thought I got rid of the tape." "Well, apparently you didn't." "So, any idea who it is?" "Well, we know it's not Alvin, and you jusst checked on Tony, so it's not him either." "It's not Tom either. Cash just checked." Alvin said, coming into the room. "Did you hear him Simon?" 'Yeah, i heard him. So, we know it's not Tony or Tom. And it's obviously not Alvin or Cash. The only ones left that could have gotten hold of that old tape are Theodore and Ben." 'Well, the outline was too small to be Theo. SO, then, it's gotta be..." "Ben. Yeah, it has to be." "Alvin, call Theo." "Right." A moment later. "Hello?" Eleanor woke up as Theodore answered the phone. "Theo, it's Al. Listen closely. Your not going to believe this." Alvin told Theodore what was going on, and Theodore passed it along to Eleanor. "And we know it's not me, Simon, Cash, Tony or Tom, so the only one left is.." "Ben." "Right." 'But, that can't be." Eleanor said loud enough for Alvin to hear. 'He's in bed." "You'd better go check." "Alvin said. 'I will. I'll be right back." Eleanor walked into Ben's room and noticed the open window and the tape recorder, which was still playing. She grabbed the recorder and ran back into the bedroom. "He's gone! He snuck out through the window! And I found this on his night stand." "Al, what caused you to turn into Captain chipmunk was listening to that tape Simon made, right?" "Yeah, why?" "Well, tell me if this sounds familiar." Theodore unplugged the headphones, so that the recorder would play the tape as loudly as possible. He then held the phone up to the recorder. "Yeah, that's it alright. How in the world did he get that?" "It must have been what he ad in that box." Eleanor said. "Box? What box?" Alvin asked. Theodore told Alvin how they're day had gone. "And now he's played the tape and gotten himself turned into Captain Chipmunk. Man, I don't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him." "We have to figure out where he went." "I know that. Let's get everyone gathered over here and we'll figure it out from there." "Okay. Ely, go wake Libby up. We're going to go find Ben." "Right." Moments later, all the munks were gathered at Alvin's house. The kids were brought up to speed. "So, basically, Ben's in a trance and is out there somewhere, doing who knows what." Tony said. "Precisely." Simon said. "We have to find him. This city is dangerous at night. And he's all alone. Oh my poor baby." Eleanor sobbed. Jeanette rubbed her back. " There, there. We'll find him. I promise. After all, We've done harder things than that. This should be easy.' "Thank Jeanette." "man, of all the times for me to forget to set the alarm. Man I feel stupid." Theodore said. "Beating yourself up isn't going to help anything, Theo." Cash said. 'We need to calm down and figure out where Ben's gone to." "Your right." " I know. So now then, let's figure this out. Where would he go? Hmm. Hey, Al, where did you go when you were Captain Chipmunk?" "Um, hard to remember. I was in a trance after all." "Well, I remember. He came to see me." Brittany said. "I see. So, Alvin went to see the girl he cared about when he was captain chipmunk, so maybe Ben's done the same thing. And that means.." "He's gone to see holly." Olivia said. "Right. Everybody load up. We gotta get to Harry and Char's place." The munks loaded up and Simon took the tape out of the recorder. He wanted to study how in the world this simple device had caused this. Meanwhile, Ben, as Captain chipmunk, was chatting with Holly, whose house didn't have an alarm so she was able to walk right out the front door. The other members of the chipmunk could only watch, as they had no idea what to do about this situation. 'Come away with me, senorita. We will see many beautiful things together." "Well, that's tempting and all but, I have a boyfriend. I couldn't just up leave Ben like that." "Then give me a kiss." 'What? No way. I'm saving my first kiss for Ben. Matter of fact, he gets it tomorrow. So, there's no way I'm gonna blow it on you, captain." "Oh, please, senorita. I beg of you." "I said no." At this moment, the munks arrived. "Huh? What are you all doing here?' Holly asked. "No time for that, Holl. Move." Tom said. Tom hit Ben in the back of the head, knocking him down. "Ben!" Eleanor yelled. "Oh, relax aunt Eleanor. I didn't hit him that hard. Just hard enough to knock back to his senses." Ben groaned and got back up, his mask falling off in the process. 'Ben?" Holly asked. "Huh? Oh, hi, Holly. Um, how did I get here?" "That's a long story, cuz." Eliza said. "You'd better sit down for this." Ben sat down and Holly and her family crowded around o hear the tale. Once Eliza finished explaining what had happened in the past and what just happened, Harry busted out laughing. "You've gotta be kidding me!" 'But we're not, Harry. I've got the tape that caused both of these incidents right here." Simon said. "Speaking of that, can I borrow that Simon?" Alvin asked. "Uh, yeah sure. Here." "Thank you." Alvin then walked over and placed the tape directly in front of his car's right front tire. He then started the car and ran the tape over, smashing it into pieces. "What the?! Alvin! What did you do that for?!" Simon yelled. "Because it needed to be done. Now, nobody else can ever become captain chipmunk." "But I was going to study that. I mean, you have to admit that's very impressive that a simple tape like that could turn to completely different people into the same character." "Yeah, but, trust me on this. Some things are just better off gone." Alvin got out of his car and looked at the shattered remains of the tape. "Rest in peace, captain." "Yeah, he might as well. Cause, lord knows, we don't need him." Brittany said. "Well, there goes that opportunity. O well." Simon said. Holly walked over to Ben. 'Ben?' "I'm so sorry, Holly. I know this has gotta be embarrassing." "Nah, not really. I actually think it's kinda cute. Your love for me is so strong that it turned you into that captain chipmunk, with that tape's help of course. This just proves you love me, and I love you." Ben stood up. "Yeah, i do love you, Holly. More than you could understand." "Oh, i think I do. After all, you've risked losing your life me. Believe me, I understand. But, what I don't get is why you listened to that tape in the first place." "Because i thought it would help me get closer to you. I've been waiting to kiss you for a long time and dad told me that I might just have to wait until after your eighth birthday. And I was cool with that. But, then i got to wondering if I'd be any good at kissing So, when i found that tape, I thought it might help me." 'Ah, that's the cutest thing I've ever heard." Charlene said. "Come on, Holl. You gotta kiss the poor guy. Look what he's been through." Nikki said. " i know, i know." "Don't listen to them, Holly. Do it whenever you feel ready. I've waited this long, so i can wait a bit longer." "Well, actually, I've been waiting too." "Huh?" "I've been waiting for the right moment. I wanted it to be perfect, so I've been waiting for the right moment. But, I got tired of waiting, so I was take the first chance i got tomorrow to do it, but you know what?" "What?" "I don't think I can wait that long." Holly leaned in and kissed Ben. 'I love you Ben." "I love you too, Holly." Eleanor and Charlene looked at each other and smiled. Tom then suddenly slapped Ben on the back. "Welcome to the club, bud!" "Ow!" "Sorry." "well, this has been a night we all won't soon forget, but we really ought to get to bed. After all, we've got church tomorrow." "Yeah, and mom will give us an earful if we sleep in, so come on everybody, let's go home and go to bed." Cash said. "Amen, bro. Man, I'm tired. Night guys." Alvin called to Harry and Charlene. "Good night, everybody. We'll see you tomorrow."


	149. Chapter 149

New munks

Patty's new job

Two days after the return and demise of captain chipmunk, the munks were having a family outing tot he zoo. Xavier, Vinny, miss Miller, and Dave all joined them. The only ones not present were Simon, Jeanette, Tony and Patty, though they had just called and promised they were on their way. Since Andy's untimely death, the munks had put aside time to be with Patty as often as possible. They had recently started taking turns, to show her how each of them cared for her individually. Today was Jeanette and Simon's turn. However, the rest of the Seville family couldn't stand by the entrance and wait for their blue clad family members to show up. The kids didn't want to wait, and so they had to go on in. Right now, they were observing the crocodiles, which were, oddly enough, Helen's favorite animal. She could never explain why she loved them so much, but she did. "Alright, where to now?" Alvin asked. "Well..." Eleanor said, pulling out her map of the zoo. "We're closest to the reptile house, so we could go there. But, then again, we're also very close to the new lions exhibit, they just had a lion cub born yesterday that I'd bet would be really cute to see." "Hmm, both are really good choices. I cant chose. What do you say, leader munk?" Alvin asked Cash. 'Now, Al, I've told you a hundred times, we're co-leaders. You've got as much say as I do." "Yeah, but I can't pick. So, you do it." "well, to be honest, I can't chose either. But, I have an idea." Cash reached into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. "Okay, if it's heads, we go to the reptile house. If it's tails, we go to the lions exhibit." The other munks nodded. Cash flipped the coin, caught it in mid-air, and then slapped onto the back of his hand. He revealed it to be tails. 'Tails." Theodore said. 'Then, to the lions exhibit we go." Alvin said. On the way to the lions exhibit, the munks passed the camels exhibit. When the camel closest to Ben let out a grunt, the young munk jumped behind the nearest adult munk, who happened to be Cash. "What the? Ben?" "Keep that thing away from me, Uncle Cash!" "Ben, it's just a camel." "No, it's not! It's a brain eater! Don't let it get me!" 'A brain eater? What are you... Oh! I get it. Hey, Theo!" "Hmm?" "Did you let Ben watch that zombie movie marathon on TV last night?" "Yeah, we let him watch it." "He swore up and down that he could handle it, so we let him watch it. But, we told him that the first time he got freaked out, he had to go to bed." Eleanor said. "I see. And how far did he get?" "Well, you know what the first movie was right?" Theodore asked. "Yeah, Zoo of the Undead." "Right, well, you know how a lot of the people get taken out off screen? Like, how that one blonde girl gets yanked into the water by an undead crocodile, or how the guy with the glasses gets pulled into the zombie bear's cave?" 'Yeah. I watched the movie, Theo." " Right, well, then, you know how the first on screen death happens." "Of course. The guy in the green shirt gets his head chomped on by a cam.. Ohh!" "Yeah, Ben made it to that point and then got freaked out. So, it was off to bed." Eleanor said. Ben shook as he watched the camels move about. "Ben, look at me." Cash said. Ben looked up. "Camel's are vegetarians. They don't eat meat. They only did that in the movie because it was a movie and because they were zombies. This isn't a movie, and those camels are very much alive. So, unless you suddenly turn into a giant blade of grass, I think you'll be okay." "oh, okay." 'Yeah, but now we're off to see some real man eaters! To lions the we go!" Eliza shouted. Cash, Theodore and Eleanor alls hook their heads. "What?" "Not helping Liz." Cash said. Meanwhile. "'sigh' We're five minutes from the zoo, and they both decide that they have to go to the bathroom." Simon said. He and Tony were waiting in the car in the parking lot at a gas station. Jeanette and Patricia, meanwhile, were inside using the bathroom. "Well, when you gotta go, you gotta go, dad." Tony said. "I know that, Tony. It's just that we were making such good time. Ugh, we should've been at the zoo by now. Honestly, I don't even really feel like going. I've got a pounding headache. Who's bright idea was this anyway?" "Grandma's." "Oh, right, it was mom's idea. 'sigh' You know, I appreciate what she's trying to do. She's trying to make sure that the family stays close, but in all honesty, can we really get any closer than we already are?" "Hmm, well, honestly, I don't think so. But, if we could, we might not want to. Cause I think, if we got any closer, we'd start fusing together. But, even so, seeing us all together makes Grandma happy." "I know, and want mom to be happy, it's just that, well, on top of my headache, I've got a bad feeling." "Bad feeling?" "Yeah. I just don't like this place." "This place? You mean the zoo?" "No, this gas station. Something doesn't feel right here. I just don't like it here. The sooner the girls get back, the sooner we can get out of here." "Well, they can't be much longer. Um, how about we play game until they get back?" "Eh, why not? What do you want to play?" "Hmm, why don't we play I spy?" "Wow, we haven't played that since you were four years old." "Eh, I'm feeling nostalgic. So, what do you say dad?" "Sure. Let's play." "Okay, then I'll go first. Um, I spy with my little eye, something...green." "Green huh? Alright, hmmm." Simon looked around. "Is it that sign?" "Nope." "Um, is it that car?" 'Uh uh." "Uh, that guy's shirt?" "No. Give up?" 'Yeah." "It's my eye." "Your eye?" "Yeah, my right eye. It's green remember?" "How did you see your own eye?" "I looked at the reflection of my eyes off of my glasses." "Well, that would explain it." Meanwhile, Patricia and Jeanette we on their way back. The bathrooms were on the back side of the station. They were talking and Jeanette was confiding secrets in patty, her way of showing how she cared. "So, you really did it last night , Jeanette?" "Yeah, as soon as we were sure that Tony was fast asleep." "Do you think that you could be, you know?" "I don't know. And I won't know for a while. We didn't realize that Tony was on the way until Simon and I had been married for a solid month." 'Well, I wish you all the best all the same." "Thanks." "...oh crap!" "What?" "I left my purse in the restroom." 'Well, go get it. I'll wait for you here." "Okay." Patricia went off to get her purse. Jeanette stood and waited for five minutes. "It shouldn't be taking her this long. I wonder what happened. I'd better go check on her." Jeanette went into the restroom to see a man holding Patricia against the wall." Hey, leave her alone!" Jeanette began to pound on the man. He ran off. "Not so easy when the women fight back, huh?!" "Thank you, Jeanette." "No problem." 'Hey, what's taking so long?!" Simon yelled, barging in. He had gotten tired of waiting. "Simon, Patty almost got robbed." "Really?" "Yes, but Jeanette scared him off." "I see. Well then, we'd better get out of here." The four arrived five minutes later. Simon called Alvin, who told him that they were at the reptile house. 'Of course." Jeanette said when Simon told her where the others were. They quickly caught up with their family. They then explained what had happened. "I'm just thankful that Jeanette stopped him. If that man had taken my purse, he'd have everything. All my money, my house keys, everything." "Hmm." Xavier said. "Patricia, how would you like a job?' "What?" "Ever since Trisha died, I've had a secretary position left wide open. So, what do you say?" 'I'd, I'd love it! Thank you!"

New munks

The redemption of Libby

Meanwhile, six hundred miles away, Mike Libby sat at a sidewalk cafe, drinking some black coffee. Like Andy, he didn't care for cappuccinos. Good old fashioned coffee was good enough for him. He was reading over a book on Norse mythology. Particularly, he was reading about Valhalla, the paradise of true warriors and real heroes. Now, Mike was a believer in the real Christian heaven, but he couldn't help but think about who he knew that belonged in Valhalla. Only one name came to mind. Adrian McNab. "But he's busy being one of the guardian angels of those chipmunk kids. But still, this place sounds ideal for him. Meanwhile, I belong with Hela." Hela was Norse goddess of the under world. It wasn't hell which she presided over, but it sure wasn't a paradise either. It was just the final resting place for normal souls, in Norse mythology. That's what Mike knew that he could only hope for. "In reality, unless I do some serious repenting, I'm going to hell. No doubt about it. I need to start doing some serious good. But, where do I start?" That's when he noted a father and daughter walk by. He could hear them talking. "What are we going to do, daddy? Those guys are gonna..." "I know, honey. But, we can't do anything right now. I wish we could. I just hope your mother is strong enough to hang on" "That sounds like as good a place as any to start." Mike thought. He watched them sit down nearby and order two sodas. As soon as the waitress was out of earshot, the young girl, who looked no older five or six, began to cry. Whatever was happening to her mom was scaring her out of her mind. Mike couldn't sit back and listen anymore. He got up and walked over to them. 'Excuse me." "Oh, I'm sorry. She's being too loud." "No, no. She's alright. Actually, I want to help you." "What?" "I heard you talking. Something's happened to your wife?" "Oh, don't bother yourself with that, sir." "Please, I want to help you." "But, why?" "Let's just say that I've done some things in my past that I'm not proud of and now I wanna make amends for it." "And maybe keep myself out of the pit. Probably can't get into paradise, but maybe I can work to keep myself out of the pit. Yeah, limbo is good enough for me." "Well, I thank you sir, but..." 'Please, daddy. He seems sincere, and really, can we afford not to accept his help?" "Smart little girl." Mike thought. " I know, honey, but.." "Sir, I assure you, I want no payment. I'm just a man trying to do right with a life that's gone horribly wrong. Please." "Daddy, please, We need to get mom back, and I think he can be a really big help." "Well, alright. My name's Wally Trent. This is my daughter, Kelsy." "Hello." Kelsy said. "Hello. My name's Mike Libby. Now, what's the issue? Something about Mrs. Trent?" "Yes, but here's not the place to talk about this. Come with us." Mr. Trent said. Mike nodded and followed the father and daughter to their home down the street. "Alright, now, what's going on?" "Well, two weeks ago, a gang of strangers came to town. Nobody had any idea who they were, and everybody knows everybody around here, since we're not a very big town." "Yeah, I noticed that." "Right, well, at first we figured that if we left them alone, they'd just go away. But they didn't. Instead, they started to make major movements around town. It started with petty robberies, but it built upwards. I think they were just robbing those convenience stores for supplies for their real plan." "Real plan?" "Yeah, kidnapping people. Particularly, women and young girls." "I've heard of this. The women are either held for ransom or sold off as slave labor on the underground market." "Your good."

New munks

Mike Libby: hero

" It took me days to find that out. You pieced it together in minutes." "It was just a lucky guess." "Well, we could certainly use that luck." "Well, like I said, I'm here to help. But, I have to ask, how were you able to put together that much? I mean, no offense but, you don't like anything more than your average citizen." "Yeah, I know. I look unassuming, but really, I'm part of this town's csi team." "Your csi?" "Yup." "Well, that would explain your information gathering skills. That's part of your job after all." "Yeah." "So, with all this information you've gathered, do you know where they're keeping your wife and other girls they've kidnapped?" "Yes. We know where they being kept. The only problem is that our police force isn't very big, and we don't have a swat team. Ah, heck, a lot of the police force is fresh outta camp rookies from another town, and lot of them are too scared to do anything." "Scared? Of what?" "Of what happened to the sheriff." "What happened to the sheriff?" "That's just it. No one knows for sure. One day, he went out alone to the gang's base to attempt some negotiations, and he was never heard from again. We think he's either dead, or they've got him now too." "I see, and with only a bunch of rookies who haven't seen any action yet to rely on, this town is basically up shit creek without a paddle." 'Could you not curse in front of my daughter?" "Oh, sorry. But, still, you can't deny your in a bad way." "Yeah, that's true. Matter of fact, I'm part of a five man task force that's trying to solve this. We're the only ones brave, or maybe crazy, enough to try it. But, we've exhausted all our options. Every maneuver we've come up with has been shot down." "Hmm, maybe I know something that can help. Do you have a map of their base, or at least the area it's in?" "Uh, yeah. Right here." "Let me see it." Mike looked over the map. The base was a square shaped building nestled between two small forests. "Okay, this is perfect. I believe I have a plan." "That's great!" "I hope so, gather your task force, the rookies who aren't scared and anybody else willing to fight and get them here as soon as possible." "Actually, I think Police headquarters would be better." "Yeah, your right. Now pick up the phone and start dialing." Twenty minutes later, everyone was gather in the police headquarters lobby. Including Mike, Mr. Trent and his task force, the militia of sorts numbered just over sixty strong. "Alright, you all know why your here. Each of you has lost some one important to these criminals. A wife, a mother, a sister. Some one. So that's why I'm here. My name is Mike Libby. I'm a drifter, but I've come to like your town in the few days I've been here. Now, I've heard your situation from Mr. Trent here and I've come up a plan. How could I do this so quickly, you might be asking. Well, and I know you might not believe me since you don't know me, but, I used to be part of her majesty's royal marines back in England. But, that was long ago. I'll tell you the story later. Now, here is my plan. Listen to it and then decide for yourselves whether you want to follow my lead or not. Here's my plan. The enemies base is flanked on either side by small wooded areas, which they more than likely use for cover in fire fights. But, this can be used against them. What we do is, first, we take out any guards outside the base or in the woods, then, we place pockets of twenty men in the woods on either side. Then, we send a group of thirty right into the hornets nest. We force them off into a v formation and drive them towards our twenty mates in the outside areas. There, they'll be stuck in a pincer maneuver trap. Unable to move on either side, they'll either have to give up to go down fighting. Either way, we win and we get your women back. So, what do you say gentlemen?" One man step forward. "Mr. Libby, I barely know anything about you, but if you can help me get my wife back, I'll follow you into hell itself." "What's your name?" "It's Greg. Greg Parson." "Well, Greg, your just kind of guy I need. If something happens to me, you keep the mission alive. Understand?" Mr. Parson saluted mike. " Sir, yes, sir!" "Well, I guess that means that Mike's the leader and Mr. Parson is second command!" Kelsy yelled. The crowd cheered. "Well, then, I guess I have no choice. Fine, I'll be your leader. Now, I guess it's up to me to decide when we do this. I say we move out tonight, under the cover of darkness. When does the sun set tonight?" "Around eight thirty." One man said. "Alright then, we meet back here at eight and then move out. Before then, you should rest up, eat dinner and get everything you think you'll need ready. Well, what are you standing around for? Get moving!" "Yes sir!" Mike turned to the Trent family. "I need access to tranquilizer, and I need it now." "Follow me." Mr. Trent took Mike back to his house and then to his basement. Turning on the light, Mr. Trent said 'Take your pick." Mike looked around to see box upon box of tranquilizer ammo and rifles. "Where did you..?" "I'm an avid hunter in my spare time." "I see. Anything you recommend for my impending needs?" "Well, this box right here is my personal favorite. It'll knockout a twenty-five point buck in five seconds flat." "Sold. Now I need to get old faithful ready." "Old faithful?" "My own personal rife. Used it for years. No sense in stopping now. I'll be back in a minute." later on, Mike outside the Trent house, getting his gun ready. "Mike?" "Oh, Kelsy. What are you doing out here?" "Just bringing you some dinner. Dad grilled up some burgers. Here you go." "Aw, Kelsy, your being too nice to me. You barely know me." "All I need to know is that your trying to rescue my mom and all the other ladies. That your a hero. That's all I need to know." "A hero? Huh, I never thought I'd ever be called that." "And, uh, I want you to have this." Kelsy handed Mike a base ball cap. "What's this?" "It's what my mom and I do. We make custom hats. I want you to wear it tonight. I know dad won't let me come. So, if you wear that, I can be there in spirit. So, will you please wear it? For me?" "I'll treat it like a badge of honor. ." "Thank you." "Okay, okay." Hours later. "Taking the shot." Mike said. Mike fired his rifle and dropped the last of the outside guards of the gang's base. "Okay, everyone in position. Greg, Wally, your with me. Every one else, follow your appointed leaders. Let's move!" Mike's plan went off with out a hitch. Everyone rejoiced as the rookie cops threw the men into the backs of their squad cars and drove them away. Two men went to look for the sheriff. Unfortunately, they found that the sheriff was dead. "What happened to him?" Mr. Trent asked the men carried the sheriff's body into the main room. "He tried talking to them and went horribly wrong. He gave his life trying to save us." Mrs. Trent. "He died a hero. A fitting end for a brave man like him. Taking this all on by himself... He deserves the best funeral the force has to offer." Mike said. "And who's he?" Mrs. Trent said. 'Honey, this is Mike Libby. He's the drifter who organized this whole thing." "Your kidding." "Nope. As incredible as it sounds, it's true. All of this was his idea." "I see. Thank you, Mr. Libby." "No problem, ma'am." "And that's one good deed done." Mike thought. "Only about a hundred more to go." "Hey, mike!" Greg yelled. " What?" "Catch!" Greg through Mike the sheriff's badge. "what's this?" "we just elected you the new sheriff." "your kidding." "Nope. So, you in?" Mike fastened the badge to his shirt. "Yes, I believe I am."


	150. Chapter 150

New Munks

To china we go

(One week later) "Hey, Cash!" Katrina called. "Hmm?" "Check out this email I just got." Cash took a look at the piece of electronic mail. It was from Katrina's cousin Mei-lee, a relative from her days as a Choy. Just like how Cash kept in touch with Kimiko and kin, Katrina kept in touch with her. In the e-mail, Mei-lee asked the usual questions. 'How are you? Is Cash alright? How are the kids?' and so on. But, soon, Cash discovered that Mei-lee was in trouble. She was having trouble that only someone like Katrina or Helen could help with. In other words, she was having psychic troubles. Now, Mei-lee was not psychic, but she was an expert on the subject. She could list off every possible power known to man, and could also tell you what to what extreme those powers could be taken. However, she couldn't fight one if she had to. According to the e-mail, a powerful psychic was causing chaos in her home town in China. With her Grandmother Macy long gone, Mei-lee had to call in aid from the best psychic she knew. That, of course, was Katrina. In the e-mail, Mei-lee was practically begging Katrina to come to China as soon as possible. "Hmm, sounds like she's in trouble. And by the sound of it, it's our kind of trouble." "You mean my kind of trouble." 'No, I mean our kind of trouble. You and Nell may be the psychics of the family, babe, but that doesn't mean that Tom and I are useless here. We can do something to help, and we will. Just like we always do." " But Cash, I don't you and the kids to get involved in this. I know your strong honey. As matter of fact, sometimes, when Alvin calls you 'supermunk', I wanna just shout 'that's right'. But, unlike Superman, you, unfortunately, aren't almost immortal. If this psychic that's causing Mei-lee all these problems has telekinesis or pyrokensis, or anything like that, he/she could really hurt you or the kids." "Kate, do you and Nell stay out of, what you might call, 'my or Tom's kind of trouble'? You know, swordfights and such. Do you stay out of that, or do you help in anyway you can?" "We help anyway we can." "Exactly. Kate, you forget. We fight as a family. Your battles are my battles. And they're Tom and Nell's battles too. We stand together, like we always do. You know it's kind of funny. You keep telling me not to forget that I have all this help when I'm getting ready for a fight, and here you forget." "But..' "Honey, as I'm sure you've probably told me before, so long as we stand together, we're unstoppable. We're invincible. Nobody can touch us." "Well, I guess your right. I guess it makes the most sense to go together." "Right. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got some calls to make." "Calls?" "Yeah. You know if we went off to some place like China just like that, Alvin and Brittany would never shut up and everyone else would tell us over and over how we could have asked them to come along." "Well, I guess your right. And, a little help never hurts." "Right. I think I'll call Grandpa first. Now, is X at work right now or not? Eh, I'll try his cell. That way, I'll get him regardless of where he is." Cash went off to call everyone. Katrina turned back to the e-mail. "Mei-lee.. She was the first one, other than Macy, to say she loved me and then call me a Choy. We were like sisters. When we could get together, we were inseparable. I have to help her. I'd better tell her that we'll be there as soon as possible." Katrina opened the reply mail box and typed out this message. "I got your message. Just sit tight, sis. We'll be there as soon as we can. Just try to hold out for another day. By the way, you've still got that big house right? Because, we're _all _coming, so your going to need the room."

New munks

Tougher than she looks

"Will you please reconsider mom?" The munks were at the airport, the day after Katrina had received the email from Mei-lee, waiting for final preparations to be conducted on their private plane. Katrina was worried about Miss Miller. Out of everyone going, she was concerned about her the most. She really wished she could go alone, but she knew what Cash had told her yesterday was true. She knew her family wouldn't let her hear the end of it for some time if she did. So, she had to let them go. In all honesty, she was nearly as concerned about them as she was Miss Miller. They could handle this. But, she didn't think Miss Miller could. "I mean, come on. I don't even really Cash and the kids coming, let alone you." "You don't want me to come huh? I get it. Your ashamed of me. You'd much rather be seen in China with your chipmunk mother than me. Hard to say I blame you. She's younger and prettier, and I'm just an old bat. I should just go and put myself in a home." Vinny perked up and began listening to the conversation. "NO! That's not it at all! Listen! Please, listen to me, mom. I love you, and I will always love you. I'm not ashamed, I'm just concerned. I mean, dealing with psychics is a dangerous business. You remember how Helen looked after her fight with Gina? Well, I don't want that to happen again. It was bad enough that it happened to my little girl, so I don't want it to happen to my mom. I don't want it to happen to anybody, but especially not you or Vinny. I mean, your my mothers and I don't want anything bad to happen you. It'd kill me if it did. Heck, it'd kill everyone, but it'd hit me the hardest because I'd be the one that was really responsible. And I don't think I could take the guilt." "But, Kate, I.." Vinny finally turned around and began speaking. "Listen Rebecca." Vinny said. "Mom? What are you?" "Sorry, Kate honey. I was eavesdropping. But, that's not important. What is important is that you understand what Katrina is trying to say, Becky. She doesn't want us to get hurt. So, she's asking you not to go, not because she's ashamed of you or would rather be seen with me than you, but because she's concerned." "I get that Vinny. With both of you telling me the same thing, how could I not? But, what I don't get is why she's willing to let you go and not me." "Well, that's because Xavier packed me a little something." "What?" "A gun. Namely, Andy's old gun. See, Xavier was just about as worried about me coming as Katrina is. So, he wanted to arm me, and since he knows that I've handled Andy's old gun before, he asked Patty if I could borrow it. Patricia said I could use it and so now, it's being loaded onto the plane." "Is that all? All I need is a gun to make Katrina stop worrying about me? Well, heck, why didn't you say so? Hey, Xavier!" "Hmm?" "Come here a second!" "Coming." Xavier walked over. "What do you need Becky?" "How many guns did you pack for this trip?" "Um, three. Two rifles and Andy's old gun for Vinny. Why?" "Could I borrow one of the rifles?" "Uh, I guess. Why?" "Katrina's worried about me coming along and Vinny just told me that the reason she's not worried about her is because she has that pistol. Now, I took karate, so I can do hand to hand, but I still know that it's better to stop enemies from long range. So, think I can borrow one?" "Of course." "Thank you. There. Satisfied Katrina?" "Um, yeah, I guess. Man, your determined huh?" 'Katrina, any family of yours is family to me. That being said, I feel like I should go and help your cousin, just like I would for everyone here." " I see....Thanks mom." "No problem dear."


	151. Chapter 151

New munks

Zixy Adams

" It's gonna be a long flight." Alvin said. The munks were now loaded and were just now taking off for china. "So, anybody got anything worth talking about?" "Not really." Cash said. "Sy, Jean? You guys got anything? Something you may have found out about merged state or something like that maybe?" "No, sorry, Al. We don't have anything new yet." Jeanette said. "And believe me, we've been trying." "I believe you. 'sigh' Seriously, no one has anything worth talking about? Man, we need to put a tv in this thing." "You didn't have to come Alvin." Katrina said. "Oh, no, don't you dare start with that mess, Katrina Seville. Yes, I did have to come. Cause first off, while your cousin only mentioned one psychic, if I've learned anything about psychics from you over the years, it's that pretty much all psychics can sense each other, and those looking to prove themselves seek out the strongest ones they sense. You can handle one by yourself, no problem. I know that. It's just the same as how Cash can take one fighter by himself. But, what happens when more start showing up, and they all want a piece of you, and they aren't going to wait their turn in line? Then what do you do?" "Well.. I'd...okay, I'll admit it. I don't know what I'd do. I mean, if more than maybe five came at me at one time, I'd be in trouble." "Exactly. I know your powers are strong, Kate, but you can only read minds and mind break people so fast. That's where we come in. We take care of the riff-raff while you get a chance to rest. See? We're there to get your back, just like we always are. So, long story short, and I know I'm repeating myself but, I did have to come. I'm not about leave whole in the defensive line open and let some jackass sneak in and take a shot while your still tired. No way. I ain't gonna let anybody mess with my sister like that. And I'm sure everybody else would say the same thing." Everyone nodded. "See? I was right." "So, Kate, drop the worried look. We've all told you this stuff over and over again. Just let it sink in and fully accept our help already. Your not doing yourself any favors by still wishing you could go alone. So, please, put on that smiling, happy to be with your family face we all love. Please?" Brittany asked. Katrina began to do as she was asked. "Thank you." "Your welcome. And, thank you too. All of you." "No problem." Everyone said. "Hey!" Brittany then said. "I just thought of something we could talk about." "And what's that dear?" Alvin asked. 'Well, and I know I should be last one thinking about this but, remember how Ben turned into Captain Chipmunk?" 'Of course we do, mom. It was only last week." "Right, well, I was just thinking how he's the latest addition to the list of personalities this family has turned into. I mean, not including the dark munks of course, look how many there have been. Both Alvin and Ben have become Captain chipmunk, Simon became that mr. Heartthrob when he drank that one formula Alvin made up." 'How'd you know that?" Simon asked. "How else? Alvin told me. Remember, there's no secrets in this family, sy." Simon grumbled something unintelligible. "Anyway, there's those two personalities and then Theodore's turned into a personality that called itself Drake, according to what Cash told me. So, it seems that all the guys are prone to personality changes, except, of course, for Cash." "Hey, yeah! Why is that Cash? What makes you special?" Alvin asked. "I'm not special. I have had a personality change. I just never mentioned it cause no one ever brought it up." "Well, now it's time for you to tell us about it." Brittany said. "Fine. When I was eight, I fell the down the stairs at the church Agito and I went to. We were going to an amusement park after church, so I was in a hurry to get out the door. Now, of course, now I'm a lot different. I can wait. The lord comes first." "Right." Brittany said. "Of course." Alvin said. "But, back then, it was a different story. I ran out the door, slipped at the top of the steps and fell down them, hitting my head about three times on the way down. When I landed at the bottom, I was already out cold. When I came to, I had no memory of who I was. Agito took me to the hospital and they examined me. They took x-rays of my head and such and told Agito that my memory loss was only temporary. It would more than likely return in a weeks time. But, during that weeks time, for some reason, no matter how many times Agito called me by my name, I didn't believe that Cash Ikebana was my name. And before you ask, yes, I was able to remember everything from that week, even after I got my memory back. And I remember the name I came up with for that week." "What did you call yourself?" Jeanette asked. "I'll tell you, but first Alvin and Brittany have to promise not to laugh longer than a minute." "We promise." Both munks said. " Now tell us what you called yourself." Alvin said. " Alright, alright. During the week that I lost my memory and didn't believe that my name was Cash Ikebana, I went by the name of Zixy Adams." Alvin and Brittany started laughing immediately. "Start the timer." Cash said. True to their word, Alvin and Brittany laughed for one minute exactly. "whew, man, I haven't laughed like that in a while." Alvin said. "Priceless." Brittany added. " Oh, but that's not the half of it." Cash said. "There's more?" Alvin asked. "Yeah. See, it wasn't enough that I was calling myself Zixy Adams. Oh no. Zixy had to have a theme song." "A theme song? Do you remember how it went?" Jeanette asked. "Yes, unfortunately." "Well?" Alvin pressed. "Sing it." Brittany commanded. "Okay, okay. But just this once." "Fine." "It went like this. 'I'm Zixy, I'm Zixy, strong kinda like Bill Bixby.'" "What?!" Alvin laughed. "Strong kinda like Bill Bixby? What is that about?!" Brittany asked through her laughter. "I was watching a lot of the old Bill Bixby, incredible Hulk show at the time. Zixy liked it too. I'm sure that was the cause of that line." Suddenly, Cash heard a snicker from behind himself. He turned to see Simon struggling to keep a straight face. "Et tu, Simon?" "I'm sorry, Cash. I tried. But I just can't take it anymore." Cash then noted that Jeanette was biting her lip. "Go ahead, Jean. Cause if you bite your lip any longer, your going to draw blood." Simon and Jeanette started laughing. Soon. Theodore and Eleanor started to chuckle. Eventually, nearly the whole plane was laughing hysterically. "Go on, yuck it up." Cash said. "Hmph, this is last time I'm ever gonna be honest with you people. Know what? When we get to China, you can all fend for yourselves. I'm not gonna do jack to help you." The lot quickly shut up. They were all worried that Cash was serious. "Your kidding, Right Cash?" Alvin asked. 'I mean, your one of our best. We need you." "Sorry. But that's what you get. I tried to be honest, and look what I got. Laughed at by my whole family. Even my own kids. And yes, I saw you laughing, Thomas. Helen." "Uh-oh." Tom said. "We're in big trouble." Helen said. "Understatement of the year." Eliza said. "Well, I guess we deserve this. We did laugh at him and he was only being honest. This is just bad karma coming around and biting us." Olivia said. 'Snrk' Cash let out. "Huh?" Everyone said at once. Cash busted out laughing, while saying "Gotcha!" Cash laughed. "I had every single one of you going! And it was so easy!" Everyone else started laughing, now that they got the joke. Katrina smiled. "I hope you can all still laugh when this is over." She thought.

New Munks

The Choy's: indepth

(Hours later) "There it is. Mei-lee's house." Katrina said. "Holy crap!" Alvin shouted. "Man, Kate. You weren't kidding. Her house is huge." "Did she really inheirit this?" Simon asked. "Uh huh. From her mother." "What did her mom do?" Brittany asked. "She was a respected Archeologist, kinda like Les. Went on a lot of well funded and very successful digs. And because of that, she always had plenty of money. More than enough to buy this house. And when she unfortunately died in a car accident a few years back, she left this house to Mei-lee, for her to raise her family in." "Mei-lee has a family?" Eleanor asked. "Of course. She has a husband named Sung, and a daughter named Jun, who's ten years old now. Jun's really cute. Mei-lee's sent me pictures of her every year since she was born. And because of how close I am to Mei-lee, Jun calls me Aunt Katrina." "Just like how Rena calls Cash 'Uncle Cash'?" Theodore asked. "Exactly." "Hey, Kate." Brittany said. "Hmm?" "How come you've never talked about the Choy's this much before? I mean, I thought they were all bad people after how you said that nobody would fork over any money for Macy's funeral that one time with Andy at Kirsty's grave." "Well, I suppose I should apologize then. I didn't mean to make you any of you think that. The Choy's are, for the most part, good people. There's some bad ones but, hey, what family doesn't have those, right?" The munks nodded. "Well, if they're good people, why did you say that none of them would donate any money for Macy's funeral?" "I was just worked up. The words just didn't come out right. And, by the time I thought about what I had said, we were all busy. So, I'm sorry if I mislead you. What I meant to say was that none of the ones who lived near by and had extra money would pitch in." "Let me guess. Those were all part of the 'bad ones' group, right?" "Yep. I never did, understand why Macy never seemed to be bothered by the fact that she was surrounded by the black sheep of her family. I mean, we'll all admit that we try not to talk to the black sheep of our family right?" "Well, yeah. But, then again, there's only two. Cousin Dil and his no good wife Mary Lu." "Hmm, come to think of it, didn't they get busted and thrown in jail for something recently?" Eleanor asked. "Yeah." Dave said, sounding disappointed in the two. "What was it?" "Car theft. They got five years." "Right, and, now you see why we don't talk about them. Because they aren't very pleasant to be around or talk about. Hard to say anything nice about them, if at all. It was the same with the black sheep of the Choy family. And that's why I said what I did." "Okay, but then why didn't you ever talk about Mei-lee?" "Simple. No one ever asked. But, don't worry. Mei-le is very friendly, and she's said over and over again that she'd like to meet you all." "Well, what are we standing around for? Let's go!" Alvin shouted. The crew marched up to the door and rang the bell. Mei-lee answered the door. "Ah! Katrina!" "Ni hao, Mei-lee." Katrina greeted her cousin. Mei-lee hugged Katrina and then turned to Cash. "Ni-hao, Cash." "Ni hao, Mei-lee." "Hey!" "What?" "You lied, Katrina. You said that Cash doesn't speak Chinese." "I don't." Cash corrected. "I just figured that Ni hao meant hello, and so I used it." "I see. And these others are?" "This is my family, ,Mei-lee." "Well, introduce me." "Okay. Here goes." Katrina sucked in air and began introducing the family. When she finished she said "And this is just the group that lives near me." "Wow. You weren't kidding when you said you had a big family."


	152. Chapter 152

New munks

Round two

The munks and family soon settled into Mei-lee's house and were now eating dinner. "Holy cow, Mei-lee. I've had a lot of Chinese food in my twenty-seven years on this earth, but, this is hands down, the best I have ever had." "Thank you, Simon. Does any one else want some more?" "No, thanks. We're all stuffed." Cash said, speaking for the group. The others nodded. "So, uh, how long are you all staying?" Mei-lee asked "At least until this psychic that's giving you problems is defeated." Cash said. "Speaking of which, can you tell us anything about this psychic, Mei-lee?" Katrina asked. "Well, I know that she's got pyrokinesis." "A woman with pyrokinesis. Lord, I hope it's not Gina." Katrina said. "Gina?" Mei-lee asked. 'You remember Greta, right? Macy's old enemy?" "Oh, yeah, right. Gina's her daughter. Now I remember. She always seemed a little off tilter, you know? Not quite right upstairs." "Tell us about it." Jeanette said. "Katrina once said that she was kind of person who would use her powers to set fire to a whole town, and watch and laugh as it burned to the ground." "Yeah, I remember when she told us that." Brittany said. She then licked her index finger and made an invisible tally mark in the air, all the while saying 'File another one under the psycho's list." "Yeah, yeah. This Gina chick's crazy and all, but, you all forget, Nell beat the crap out of her." Tom said. "Nell? You mean Helen?" Mei-lee asked. "Yup. How many other people do you know that go by the nickname Nell?" "Helen, you defeated Gina?" Helen nodded. " But, how?" "Simple." Tom said. "Helen's a super psychic." "Oh, no I'm not." Helen said, clearly embarrassed by her brother's praise. "Nell, you can lift people twice your size twenty feet into the air with your mind. You can throw crap that's _three_ times what you way with your brain power. And if I remember right, your mind break is strong enough to cripple men that have been mutated into monsters. And yet, your still trying to tell me that your not a super psychic? Helen Lynn Seville, I declare you a liar." "Well you've beaten up guys twice to three times your size. Even taken a crazy lady that pretty much had superhuman speed. So, if I'm a super psychic, your a super samurai." "I ain't got a problem being called that. Matter of fact, I'll consider that title an honor." "Tom, your supposed to be modest about this stuff. Not go around bragging. Remember, one's pride goes before one's fall." "I know that Nell. But, Mei-lee doesn't know what we're capable of. So, I was just letting her know." 'She doesn't need to know." "You don't want her to know about your amazing powers? That's it. There is something wrong you, Nell. If I had your powers, I'd be proud of them." 'I am, it's just that.." "Nell doesn't like to show off as much as you do, Tom." Cash said. "Right, cause she's the new aunt Jeanette, not the aunt Brittany." Olivia said. "Eliza's got that one covered." "You trying to say something, Olivia? Or, should I say, Eleanor?" Eliza said. "Yeah, but nothing bad. I'm just saying that your exactly like your mom. But, there's no shame in that. Aunt Brittany's cool. And so is my mom. Which is why I don't mind being called the new Eleanor. And Helen shouldn't have any shame in being called the new Jeanette, cause aunt Jeanette's cool too. She doesn't show it as much as, say, aunt Brittany, but, still she's pretty cool. I mean, come on. She's got an I.Q. some where north of Einstein's." 'Hmm, good point." "Right, well, we're way off topic here." Katrina said. "Yes, Mei-lee. Helen beat Gina." "Wow. But, how?" "Well, you know how Macy always said that psychic powers get passed down the family line, and that sometimes, new powers can be added?" "Yeah." "Well, that's what happened here. Nell inherited all my powers and has added telekinesis to the list." "Wow, telekinesis. So that's what Tom was talking about when he said that Helen could levitate people twenty feet into the air." " Yup. She's very powerful, and I'm very proud of her." Katrina said. "Uh, thanks, mom. Um, I gonna go outside and get some fresh air." Helen went outside. "Heh heh, I think we embarrassed her." Mei-lee said. Meanwhile, Helen was taking a deep breath. "Wow, the air smells so nice here. So clean smelling. Must be cause of that mountain range over there. It cuts off the smog from the big city. I envy Mei-lee. This place is so beautiful, and she gets to live here. But, I still wouldn't trade Hollywood for it. Despite all of it's problems, I love my town." Suddenly, Helen sensed something. It felt like someone was watching her. She quickly looked around. "Who's there?" she called. No answer. She could sense the presence getting farther away. "Was that the psychic that's causing trouble? Was she scoping me out? Did she sense my power? Maybe I should go after her.... Then again, I don't wanna get yelled at by mom and dad." "Nell?" Katrina had just come outside to check on her daughter. "Mom!" "What?" "I think I just sensed the psychic lady that's causing so much trouble." "Really?" "Yeah. I was just out here, enjoying the fresh air like I said I was going to. And then, all of a sudden, I sensed a presence and felt these eyes on me." "I see. Is she still here?" "No. She ran off when she realized that I knew she was here." "Okay, well, which way did she go?" "I couldn't tell, cause she ran off so fast. But, she's a strong one. I can tell you that much." "I see. Well then, I..." "Mom, stop. I know what your gonna say, but, I am gonna fight. I'm the strongest psychic here, so I have to. You what the old spider-man saying says 'with great power comes great responsibility'. And sense God gifted me with all this power, even though I don't like to boast about it, I'm still gonna do what I have to with it." Helen looked her mother square in the eyes. "Jeez, why is that you've got my eyes, but your father's stare? I can't say no to you with that look in your eyes." Helen nodded and then took her mother's hand. "Don't worry, mommy. I'll be careful." Helen said, trying to balance the cuteness of the first line with the seriousness of the second. Katrina smiled and nodded. "Just don't dive in over your head." "I promise." Meanwhile, a certain young lady sitting deep with in the woods outside Mei-lee's house. She was staring at her left hand, which was posed to snap it's fingers. "I knew it. I knew she'd come if I messed with her precious momma's cousin's town long enough. Helen Lynn Seville. I'll never forget your name. Or how you embarrassed me. But, tomorrow's a new day and it will be a different story. I'm far stronger now, and I'm going to show you what they really mean by 'hell on earth'. I'm gonna burn you, your family and this whole damn town to the ground!" The woman then snapped her fingers and a torrent of fire shout out, lighting a small camp fire. " I swear I will, or my name's not Gina Stone!" The next day, the munks searched the town. After an hour of searching, they regrouped in the center of town. "Find anything?" Cash asked. The others shook their heads no. " I was afraid of that." "Maybe she ran off." Olivia said. 'Not likely. I sensed her yesterday evening. She's here somewhere." Helen said. Helen suddenly something from behind her. She spun around and saw a wall of fire coming at her. Tom was directly in the way. "Tom!" Helen yelled before tackling Tom to the ground. The fire ripped over them, a mere inch away from Helen's back. "As quick as ever I see." Helen's eyes widened. "I know that voice." She got up and looked at the woman. "Gina!"

New munks

Dark fury

"So glad you remember me, Nelly." "Don't you dare call me that! It's Ms. Seville to you." "Well, since I'm about to kill, I don't think what I call you really matters." "You will not kill her, cause she's not your opponent. I am!" Katrina said. Katrina then attempted to mind break Gina. Gina merely swung her arm up in an uppercut motion, snapping her fingers along the way. A wave of fire shot along the ground and came within half an inch of Katrina. "Seriously now, Katrina. That old hat trick of an attack? Your still using that? Seriously, I thought you would have tried to reach your next level. I mean, your daughter's already surpassed you, and she's only what? Eight? I meanwhile, surpassed my mother when I was fourteen and I'm now twenty-six. Meanwhile, your still using the same tricks from when we first met. You learned these tricks at age eight and now, about nineteen years later, your still using the same tricks. Pathetic. Hmm, say, I think I know why you haven't tried to grow to the next level. Your afraid. Your afraid of what kind of power you'd obtain. Your afraid of power, aren't you? That's so sad. But, Nell on other hand, I admire. She had the common sense to grow to the next level. And that's why she's the only one I'll fight." "Well, then, here I am." "Nell!" "Don't worry, mom. I got this. Tom, keep everyone back." Tom nodded and began pulling on Katrina's arm, pulling her back. "Be careful, Nell." Katrina said. Helen nodded and then looked back to Gina. "Finally. You know, Nell, I've gotten much stronger. In fact, I'd hazard to say that I've reach my maximum level. Do you think you can still win?" "I don't think, I know. I'm gonna beat you, just like I did before." "Well, one thing's for sure. Your one brave little chick. Well, reward you for your bravery, let's do this right. No one else gets involved. And to make sure, let me show you a new trick I came up with." Gina threw her arms out and snapped her fingers. She then spun as she shot fire at the ground. Soon, an impenetrable ring of fire was created. "There. Our own little arena. Neither of us can get out, and no one can get in. This ring will only go away if you somehow beat me or, more likely, I kill you." "Well then, are gonna stand here and talk, or we gonna do this?" 'Straight to the point, I like that. Very well." Gina lined her hand with Helen, ready to snap. Outside the ring, the other munks were dying to know what was going on inside the ring. "Everyone! Listen up!" Cash called. Everyone faced him. "Surround the ring! If Helen loses, I don't want Gina to escape and wreak more havoc. One way or another, Gina's going down!" the others nodded and surrounded the ring. Katrina, of course, was closest to Cash. "Do you Nell will be okay, honey?" "I'm sure she'll be fine. You've trained her well." "Yeah, but, you heard Gina. She's reached her maximum. Nell hasn't." "Don't worry about that. Helen will still be alright." "What do you mean by that?" "I'll explain later. Let's just say that Nell's victory is just a matter of time." Katrina nodded. She trusted Cash's judgment. Meanwhile, Helen was ducking and rolling around, desperately dodging Gina's attack. She narrowly avoided another wave of fire. "Crap! I'm running out of room to move! And man is it getting hot in here. I think I may just pass out from heat exhaustion. She really has gotten a lot stronger. Faster too." Helen noted a large rock behind Gina. "If I can just smash that thing into the back of her head..." "Die!" 'Oh, crap!' Helen narrowly avoided the torrent of fire. Gina fired several more shots. Helen constantly jumped out of the way. Finally, she saw her opening. "It's now or never!' Helen used her telekinesis to fling small rocks into Gina's face to distract her, rolled around the back of Gina and then targeted the large rock. Gina, now temporarily blinded by Helen's distraction, stumbled around and just so happened to line herself up with the rock and Helen. "Okay, I'll slam it into her forehead instead!" Gina got her vision back in time to see the rock coming at her. She snapped her fingers and shot out twin torrents of fire to block it. Now, both girls were using their respective powers to push the rock towards each other. But, neither one could budge it an inch in their favor. Gina was honestly surprised. "There's no way she's this strong! This is my maximum level! She can't be stronger than me! She's just a kid!" Meanwhile, Helen was thinking "Is it just me or, is she slowing down? Is she already tired? I thought it would take her longer than that. She did say she was at her maximum after all. Wait a minute! Now i get it. This is because she's at her maximum. She pushed herself too hard to become stronger. She pushed too hard in too short an amount of time. Our last fight wasn't all that long ago. She's pushed herself too far and now her body is suffering for it. She's got a lot of power, but not enough stamina to keep up with the strain of that power. Her own power is wearing her out. I may not really have to do anything at all to win!" Finally, Gina decided that she'd had enough of this stalemate. "Enough of this ridiculousness. Time to show her what you get when you mess with the Stone family." Gina increased the flow of fire from one hand, so as to free the other one up. Gina looked through the ring of fire. She could see the Seville family outside. "Which one? Which one? So many choices, so little time." She spotted Cash. "Ah yes, him. I just know Helen's a daddy's girl. Yes, he should do fine." Gina thought. "Hey, Helen!" "What?" "Wave bye-bye to daddy dearest!" Gina then snapped her fingers. "NO! Daddy! Look out!" A spiral of fire shout from Gina's fingertips and through the ring, right at Cash. Cash barely had time to move. He had moved just an inch over to the right when the fire clipped him and knocked him to the ground. Cash didn't move. "Cash!" Everyone called. "NO!" Helen heard her mother call. Helen released her influence on the rock. Gina stopped fire as well. The rock dropped to the ground. "Mm-mm! Roasted chipmunk! Delicious!" Gina mocked. "Cash! Come on! Open your eyes bro!" Helen heard Alvin call. "Heh, like he could. Little hard to open your eyes when your dead. Now then, doesn't that make you wanna fight me seriously, Helen?" Gina noticed Helen's fist was shaking. "Aw, your mad. Did I strike a cord when I killed your daddy? Were you daddy's little girl? Well, guess you've gotta grow outta that now huh? Now, fight me seriously. No more of these petty rock throwing tricks. Show me what you can really do." Helen's head shot up. "YOU!" "What the? What's up with your face? Have your teeth always been that long?" "YOU KILLED MY FATHER!" "Yeah, and what are you gonna do about it?" "I'M GONNA KILL YOU AND THEN I"M GONNA DEVOUR YOU!" "Oh, ho. Your not just gonna kill me, your gonna eat me too? Well, come on then. Come and get a good taste. And tell me if I taste spicy!" Gina shot out a wave of fire. Helen waved her hand and the rock from before flew up instantly and blocked the attack. Then, with a flick of Helen's wrist, the rock flew towards and struck Gina in the stomach, knocking her to the ground. "Holy crap! Now that's power." Suddenly, she felt herself being lifted into the air. 'What the?!" Helen then slammed gina back into the ground. She then pulled her along the ground, and then levitated her back into the air. And then, she slammed her in the ground again. She then lifted her up about a foot off the ground. "THERE, THE MEAT SHOULD GOOD AND TENDER NOW. OH, BUT LOOK AT THIS. YOUR TOO BIG FOR ME TO EAT ALL AT ONCE. SO, I THINK I'LL JUST DIVIDE YOU UP FOR LATER!" Gina could then feel her arms and legs being yanked on by an invisible power. "UGH! What, what are you doing to me?!" "WELL, I BELIEVE THE PEOPLE BACK IN THE OLD DAYS CALLED THIS QUARTERING!" "Q-quartering! Ugh, who the hell are you? You can't be Helen, cause Helen's too good to do this to me!" "OH, BUT I AM HELEN. I'M HER DARK SIDE. YOU CAN SIMPLY CALL ME DARK HELEN. I'M THE SIDE OF HELEN THAT ISN'T AFRAID OF HER OWN POWER. NORMAL HELEN WOULD NEVER USE HER FULL POWER LIKE THIS, CAUSE SHE"S AFRAID OF THE DAMAGE SHE COULD CAUSE. BUT, SHE'S NOT CALLING THE SHOTS RIGHT NOW, I AM! AND I SAY THAT I WANT A FIVE PIECE ORDER OF GINA SHANKS! HA, HA, HA!" As the pull on her arms and legs grew greater, Gina's control over the ring of fire dropped. It faded out and allowed the munks to see what was going on. Tom was the first one to see what was going on. "Look! Nell's got claws!" "Dark Helen." Brittany said. "Dark Helen! Oh no! She won't just beat Gina, she'll kill her!" Jeanette said. "What is she doing to Gina anyway?' Eleanor asked. Suddenly, they heard a sickening pop. It was Gina's left shoulder. "I'd say she's trying to pull her arms off!" Brittany said. 'We have to stop her. Nell's not a killer!" Olivia said. 'I know, but, this isn't normal Helen. We cant be sure that dark Helen wont attack us if we got too close.' Tony said. "Oh, Nell! First Cash and now you!" Katrina cried. Her tear fell on Cash's face. "Ugh. 'cough, cough'' "Huh?" Cash began to rise up. 'Ow! Man, that was embarrassing." Cash said. 'Cash! Your alive!" Katrina cried. "Well, of course I'm alive. The fire clipped me, it didn't go through me. But, that clip was still strong enough to knock me down. But, don't worry, I'm alright." "But, you weren't breathing.' Theodore said. "And you wouldn't respond when we yelled at you." Simon said. 'Oh, I can explain that. See, the fire clipped me with enough force to not only knock me, but also severely knock the wind out of me. Which would explain why I wasn't breathing. And as for responding, well, when I hit the ground, i hit my head. Hard too. That must've knocked me out. But, don't worry, I'm fine now. You guys didn't seriously I was gonna let myself get killed that easy, did you?" "No, of course not." Alvin said. "But, al, you were the one who was.." Theodore started, but Alvin covered his mouth. "You've got a big mouth, you know that, Theo?" "Haha, but seriously, what's going on?" cash asked. "Well, Helen's turned into dark Helen and is apparently going to use her telekinesis to rip Gina's arms off." Simon said. "And she turned because she thought Gina killed you." Jeanette said. "Well then.." Cash said, standing up. "I guess it makes sense for me to be the one to bring her down." "Cash." Katrina said. 'Don't worry, Kate. I'm just gonna calm her down. Just like how i calmed her down when she was a baby and she woke up in the middle of the night." Kate nodded. Cash walked over to Helen. "Helen." He said calmly. There was no reaction. "Helen!' Cash yelled. This time, dark Helen spoke. "TIME TO POP ANOTHER ARM!" Cash then rushed forward and grabbed Helen's arm. "That's enough, Helen! Look at me!" Helen faced her father. "Do you know who I am?" Helen's dark side began to fade. "Da, daddy?" Helen said through her exhaustion. "That's right, Nell." 'I'm so happy your okay, daddy. I thought you were.. Uh." " Shhh. Don't talk anymore. Just rest. I gotcha." "Daddy..uh." Helen passed out. Cash picked Helen up and then looked at Gina, who was now laying on the ground. "Somebody call an ambulance for her. It's over."


	153. Chapter 153

**New munks**

**Hit the wall**

"**How's she doing, Ely?" Cash asked. "Fine. She's still sleeping. Did you know that she snores?" "Really?" "Yeah. It's not a loud snore. It's actually kinda cute, but it's still technically a snore." "I didn't know that. Then again, Kate and I have never had to go into her room at night since she was three." "She always has been mature for her age, huh?" "Yeah. Although, today, just before she passed out, she actually sounded like a little kid for once. She calls me daddy all the time but, there's always a little bit of an air of maturity about it. But today, that was gone and she just sounded like a tired little kid." "Well, duh, Cash. That's what she was." Alvin said. "Yeah, but, she's never sounded so, I don't know, young. I'm sure you've all noticed how she usually sounds very mature, like an adult munk trapped in a kid munk's body. But, today, she sounded like a tired, vulnerable kid." "Well, yeah, I guess your right. Now that I think about it, she never has sounded like that before." Alvin said. "So, uh, when are you guys leaving?" MEi0lee asked. "Boy, your eager to get rid of us, ain't cha?" Brittany asked. 'No, of course not. It's just that, Cash said you guys were staying at least until the psychic was defeated. And, Gina's now lying in a hospital bed, with the cops waiting for her to be released. So, I was wondering if you were planning to leave soon." "Well, honestly, we've got no reason to leave right now. There's nothing waiting for us at home. At least, nothing that needs our immediate attention." Simon said. "I see." " Don't worry, Mei-lee. We'll leave tomorrow morning. Until then, nobody disturbs Nell's sleep, understood?" Cash asked. Everyone nodded. 'Good. I'll be outside if anyone needs me." "But Cash.." Mei-lee started, but Cash was already out the door. "I didn't really want you to leave so soon." She finished. She turned o the others. " Can't you talk him into staying longer? I like hanging out with you guys." "Hey, he's the leader. This sort of thing is his decision." Alvin said. "But, Al, your co-leader with him. Can't you over rule him or something?" Theodore asked. "Please, Alvin. Go talk to him. I'd like some more time to hang out with you guys. Especially Kate." Mei-lee begged. "Okay, fine. I'll go talk to him." Alvin walked outside. 'Hey, cash." "Yeah, Al?" "Um, turns out that Mei-lee doesn't want us to leave tomorrow morning. So, you think you can change your mind and let her have some more time to be with Kate? She let's you have all the time in the world to hang with Kimiko. It's only fair." "Yeah, fine. But, I thought Mei-lee didn't want us staying." "No, it's the opposite. She doesn't want us to leave. If you'd just listen for minute, you'd have heard what she was trying to say. What's wrong with you? Your not usually like this." "I'm just worried about Nell. That was the second time she's given in to her dark side. And, her dark side didn't use any restraint with her powers. Now, both things, transforming into dark munks state and using psychic powers, are exhausting. But, both together, it's too much for a kid. You saw how it affected her.' 'Yeah, it wiped her out pretty good." "It nearly destroyed her, Al. And, if that were to ever happen again, there's just no guaranteeing that Nell would survive. So, I just want to get her as far away from this as possible, as soon as possible. You know, in case Gina escapes and comes looking for round three." "So, that's why you wouldn't listen to Mei-lee and were so eager to leave tomorrow." 'Yeah." "Heh, father of the year." "Huh?" "Nothing. Listen, Cash, bro, you have to realize something. You are nearly superhuman, and Kate's no slouch in the toughness department. So, it would make sense that your kids would be tough too Tom's just about strong as you were at his age, and getting stronger all the time. He'll catch up with you real soon. Same goes for Nell. She's getting stronger all the time. And, in case you didn't already know, both of them are strong enough to keep from being finished off by turning into their dark forms. So, stop worrying. Nell will be alright. Now, don't get me wrong. I don't want her to change and go through all that again any time soon. I want her to rest and be safe from the forces of evil for a good while. I have to, cause she's my niece. She's blood. But, still, you have to see. She went through that whole thing, which must've lasted five minutes, and low and behold, she's still here. She's inside, in bed, in one piece, sleeping it off. Snoring cute snores like Ely said she was. She's become just about as tough as you are. So, if I were you, I'd stop worrying her. Nell's a smart girl. She can take of herself. She can decide whether to stand up against some evil, psychic force or not on her own. What she needs you to do is what all fathers are supposed to do. Support her and try to help her if you can. She doesn't need you to be dragging everybody out of bed first thing morning. So, just chill, okay? Everything's okay now. Nell, and everyone else, are just fine. So, relax and enjoy this place, cause it's beautiful. We'll go home soon enough." "Yeah, I guess your right. I guess I'm just being a little over protective. Nell can handle herself. Man, she's only eight, and yet she's so mature. Lord, I feel like an old man now." "Heh, well, you shouldn't feel lie that. Nell's still got a lot of growing up to do. And she's gonna need her dad for that. She's gonna need you for a good long while still. Tom too. So, for right now, just be proud of her. I am, and I'm just her uncle." "Yeah, your right, Al. I am proud of her." "Hey!" "What?" "This time I got to talk you out of a funk, instead of the other way around. Gotta say, this feels pretty good. No wonder you give so many pep talks and speeches." "Do I?" "All that time, bro. All the time. But, you know, there is one thing about all this that I can't figure out.' "What's that?" "Well, Nell's powers are strong, I know that, but, that Gina said she was at her max. How did Nell keep up?" "It's simple. Gina was slowly, slowing down from the very beginning of the fight." "Okay, explain that one to me." "Alright. Imagine a weight lifter. He's pretty strong. He can bench two hundred pounds easily. But, he wants to become even stronger. He wants to double his strength and bench four hundred pounds. But, instead of developing his muscles a little bit at a time, he just guns it and goes for the quickest muscle growing route can find. Now, here's the problem with that. If he'd done it the normal way, he'd not only develop his muscles, he'd develop his stamina too. As he reached new levels of strength, he'd find himself gaining deeper wells of energy too, because stamina grows in tandem with strength. But, since he gunned it, his muscles grew, but stamina level stayed the same. And so, when he goes to lift the four hundred pound weight, sure he can lift it, but he can't hold it up for very long and he ends up hurting himself. Possibly even damaging his muscles to the point that he can't even lift the two hundred pound weight. Same with Gina. Instead of developing her powers slowly, in order to gain the stamina needed to use her maximum level powers for a long time, she rushed it. Developed her powers, but kept the same level of energy. And so, with out the necessary level of energy, she tired herself faster. It's like in a video game, where you try to use a fourth level magic spell, while you've only leveled up high enough to use level two. You can probably do it, but your gonna drain yourself a whole lot faster. Get it?' "Yeah. You know, you should've used the video game analogy first." "Whatever."New munks**

**Deceit**

**Meanwhile, back in Hollywood, Ian was listening in on one of the group leaders conversations. "Soon, Brother." "Yes, very soon. We just need a few minor details to be ironed out." "Well, I hope those details get ironed out while the munks are away. Those pesky rodents just won't die and lord knows those four idiots can't hack it." "Tell me about it. But, still, those four have their uses." "True, true. Now then, let's get to work." "Nice to know what they really think of me and the others." I an thought. 'But, still, I can't help but wonder, what are they up too? I wonder if any of the others think about this. I should go talk to them." Ian went out into the main foyer of the former werewolf sanctuary. He found everyone laying around, either scheming or just relaxing. "Hey, guys." Ian said. Claudia and Doctor Frankenstein both merely grunted to acknowledge Ian. Claus was the only one who greeted him. "Hello, Ian. How are you today?" "Fine, fine. Can't complain. Um, hey, guys, can I ask you to stop what your doing for a minute?" "Why?" Claudia asked. "I'd like to talk to you guys. You know, like a group should." " 'sigh' Fine. I have nothing better to do anyway." Claudia said. 'Victor?" Claus asked. 'Care to join in the conversation?" "Whatever." "Well, Ian. We're all ears. What's on your mind?" "Well, I've just been thinking about our mysterious benefactors." "What about them?" Doctor Frankenstein asked. "Well, how much do we really know about them? I mean, all we know is that they brought us together and have no problems with giving us the resources to take on the chipmunks. Now, let's think about what we don't know about them. First and foremost, their names. Next, we have no idea why they brought us together.. I mean, why go through the trouble of putting this group together, when we probably would've drifted together eventually. I mean, doesn't it seem like a hassle?" "Well, I gotta admit, you have a point there, Ian. It does seem to be a hassle. Come to think of it, why don't they ever seem to be upset when we fail to defeat, let alone kill the chipmunks?" Claudia asked. "Exactly. I mean, if I was leader, I'd be pretty pissed with us. Hell, I probably would've disbanded this group by now." "Me too." Claus added. "Quiet Claus!" Claudia shot. "Now, now, Claudia. This is an open conversation. Everyone's welcome to say what they want. Speaking of which, are you going to say anything, Victor?" Ian asked. "Yes. I'll say this. I don't care who they are, or what reasons they have for putting us together. So long as they give me what I need, I'm fine with living in the dark." "Yeah, you can say that don't you don't care all you want, but it won't work with me. I know how to read faces, and yours definitely says that your as curious as the rest of us." "Whatever." "Hmm." Claus said. 'What is it, Claus?" Ian asked. "Well, I was just thinking about something else we don't know about them." "What?" Claudia asked. 'What they're working on. Surely you've noticed, haven't you? They're always talking about something. Some sort of plan they've got cooking. But, they won't tell us about it. I mean, we've been , I guess you would say, team mates for months now, and yet they still won't let us in on the big secret. I wanna know what it is." "Yeah, so do I." Claudia said. "I'd like to know as well." Doctor Frankenstein added. "Well, I don't know what they're up to, but I do know this. Whatever it is, I just know that it's big and I hope that it will take out the chipmunks." "You think it's a weapon?" Claus asked. "Could be, but I can't say for sure. There's so much we don't know. Way too much."**


	154. Chapter 154

New Munks

To the Emerald Isle

( Two days later) "Well, today's the day." Katrina said, rather sadly. Today, the Seville's decided to head home. Katrina knew Mei-lee had to go to work the next day, and she didn't want her to be worrying about them all day. Plus, She'd spent just about the same amount of time with Mei-lee as Cash had spent with Kimiko the last time he had seen her. So, it was only fair to leave now. "You sure you wanna go, babe? I don't have a problem with staying longer, so long as Gina's locked up tight." Cash said. " No, no, it's alright. Mei-lee has to go back tomorrow, so we should get out of her way. Don't want her worrying about us here while she's at work. It could hurt her chances for that promotion she was telling me about. I'd hate for us to be responsible for that. Besides all that, as I'm sure Alvin would agree, we've run out of things to do." She said with a smile. Cash nodded. "Alright then. Are you done packing?" "Yeah. Let's go." Minutes later. "I really wish you'd stay a little longer, Katie." "No, no. You gotta go back to work tomorrow, and I don't want you to be there and be worrying about us and get distracted. You gotta be totally focused to get that promotion, right?" 'Your just looking out for me, huh?" "I always am, and I always will." Mei-lee smiled and hugged Katrina. "I love you, Kate." "I love you too, Mei-lee." Suddenly, Katrina felt something squeeze her waist. She looked down to see Mei-lee's daughter Jun hugging her. "I'll miss you, Aunt Katrina." "I'll miss you too, Jun." Jun smiled and then turned around hugged Cash. "I'll miss you too, Uncle Cash." "Just like Kimiko when she was her age." Cash thought. "I'll miss you too, Jun. Oh! Right! Before I forget, I believe we have a song we have to sing, guys." "Song? What song?' Alvin asked. "The happy birthday song. Cause, if I'm not mistaken, it's Jun's birthday." "You remembered!" Jun yelled. "Of course. I'm not a choy, but I wouldn't forget your birthday. Just like I wouldn't forget any of my other nieces' birthdays." "That, plus mom told you last night." Helen said. "Yes, that too." Everyone laughed. The munks sang happy birthday to Jun, took a few pictures with her and then gave her an autographed cd. After this, they said their final goodbyes and headed for the airport. Along the way, they stopped at a smalls hop to buy souvenirs for there friends back home. While in the store, Miss Miller's phone rang. "Hello?" "Rebecca?" "Ah, May!" "Did she say May?" Alvin asked. "May, as in cousin May, in Ireland?" 'I guess so." Simon said. "How in the world did she get a call from Ireland to here in China?!" " I don't know. Maybe we're right under a satellite and that had something to do with it." "Well, we're in China right now. What? Oh, we came to help Katrina's cousin with something. No, nothing that bad, all things considered." "Not that bad? What fight was she watching?!" Brittany said. "Well, I don't know, May. But, I'll ask them. Um, guys?" "Yeah, mom?" Eleanor asked. "May wants us to come visit. Do you think we can redirect the plane to Ireland? We'll just be there a day or so, I promise." "Well, I doubt the pilot would mind." Xavier said. "But, this is best left up to the Seville Patriarch." "Yeah, what do you say, Cash?" "Well, I don't have a problem with it. Does anyone else?" Everyone shook their heads no. "Well, then, it's decide it. Tell her we're on our way, Becky." "Will do. May?" "It's been a while since we've seen May, hasn't it?" Jeanette asked. "Sure has. It'll be good to see her and Stan again." Eleanor said. "But you know what would be really nice?" Katrina asked. "No, what?" "Seeing Molly again." Everyone agreed.

New Munks

What sort of beast is man?

Hours passed and the munks had finally landed in Ireland. "I've said once this trip, and I'll say it again. We need to put a TV in that plane." Alvin said. "I'll say." Brittany said, while stretching. "That was a good nap I took though." Alvin looked at his wife and cocked his head. "What's the matter, Alvin dear?" "Um, Britt, don't take this wrong way but, um, have you gained weight?" "What?" "I don't mean it in a bad way. It's just that, you look a little bigger than usual around your middle." 'Oh, that. Yeah. I've put on a few pounds. Nothing serious though." "Um, Britt?" "Hmm?" "Do you think you could be, you know?" "The p word?" "Yeah." "I don't know. I don't feel any different than I normally do. But, you might be right. Just in case, I'll set up a meeting with Doc Samson when we get back." "Okay. And, even if you aren't, it's still a nice thought. You know, little Max growing inside you." "Yeah. But, who says it has to be Max? It could be little Hannah. Or maybe both. If I am pregnant, that is." "Yeah. Hey, let's keep this to ourselves for a while, okay? Until we find out for sure." "Okay." Meanwhile, about ten feet away, Simon and Jeanette were having a very similar conversation. "We'll keep it ourselves for now." Simon said. "Right. Still though. The idea that little Karen could be on her way, it's kind of exciting, isn't it?" "Yeah. And, that being said, just in case she is coming, I don't want you to do anything strenuous unless you have to. Okay?" 'Okay." "Hey, you guys!' Cash called. The four turned to look. "The car's waiting! So, You gonna stand there all day, or are you coming?" " Oh, sorry. Let's go guys." Simon said. The others followed. About twenty minutes later, the family rolled up on the old castle, got their things together and paid the driver, who promptly drove off. "Wow, I can't remember when the last time we were here was." Alvin said. "About three years ago. For a Family reunion. Remember? Rebecca invited us to come with her." Simon said. "Oh, yeah, your right." "Remember that baklava that one of May's cousins brought? Man that was good." Theodore said. Alvin laughed a little. "Leave it to Theodore to remember what we ate. But, in all seriousness, that was good baklava." "Well, if you guys liked it so much, I could make you some. I got the recipe." Eleanor said. "What?! When?!" Theodore shouted. "Before we left the reunion." "You've had that recipe for three years, and you never mentioned it? Eleanor, what happened to keeping no secrets between us?" "I didn't keep it a secret. It's just that it never came up. After all, baklava isn't an everyday topic of conversation." "Oh, okay." "Don't worry, honey. I'll make a huge batch when we get home, and everyone's invited to have some." Alvin threw his arm around Eleanor's shoulders. "That's our Eleanor!" "Well, that's enough kidding around. Let's go say hi." Cash said. Everyone nodded and they went to knock on the door. Cash grabbed the knocker and gave the door three smacks with it. "Coming!' They heard. They heard a click come from the door and it opened to reveal a very happy May. "Oh, My! You all really came!" "Well, of course. We said we would." Simon said. "Well, come on in." A few hours of talking and May saying how much bigger, and cuter, the kids had gotten, May headed into the kitchen to fix dinner. "Hang on, May. I'll help you." Eleanor said. Eleanor followed May. "um, aren't the rest of you going to help her?" Stan asked the girls. "Nah, Ely's got it covered. She's a better cook than the three of us put together." Brittany said. Katrina and Jeanette nodded. "Besides that, I think I'm still jet lagging." Katrina said. Stan smirked a little bit at this comment. But, this soon faded as he watched the chipmunks faces. "You guys alright?" "Oh, we're just thinking about Molly." Simon said. "Ah, I see. She was a good girl. May and I loved her, even though she wasn't ours. Oh, that reminds me of something. You guys remember the demon you fought alongside Molly and her friends?" "Not like we could forget. How he manipulated all those poor souls.. Man, I'm glad we took him out. Anybody who does that, whether they're human or demon or whatever, need a big old helping of ass kicking." Alvin said. "Right. But, I don't think he was all demon." "What do you mean?" Simon asked. "Well, during the fight, I got a look at his face. I didn't have time to think about it until after it was all over. When I thought about it, I could have sworn that I had seen him somewhere before. But, I tried not to think about any further than that. Too many unpleasant memories you know?" The Seville family nodded. "Well, I didn't think about it for years and years. But, recently, I found an old picture of Molly we had put up. Looking at that picture brought back memories of that night. And, with them came the certainty that I had seen that demon somewhere before. And, turns out, I was right. I had." "How?" Alvin asked. "Well, I'd seen him when he was human...and alive. See, after I those memories and that certainty came back, I had to research where I had seen him before. Otherwise, the feeling that I knew would nag me to death. So, I thought about where I might have seen him. And, when I did that, this other feeling that told me I had seen him in my teenage years came. So, I followed that. I got the internet and looked up old news papers and such from my teenage years. After looking for some time, and May becoming worried that I was becoming obsessed..' "Gee, who do else we know that has problem?" Alvin asked. "Shut up and let him talk, Alvin." Cash said. "Okay, geez. Go on Stan." "Well, as I was saying. After looking for some time, I came across an old news report on this convicted child killer. I saw a picture of him and I knew it was him. I had found the demon." "Who was he? You know, in life?" Theodore asked. "His name Derrick Robertson." "Okay, and what did he do?' "I don't wanna say it in front of your kids." "Trust me Stan. It takes a lot more this to scare these guys nowadays." Cash said. "Uh, okay. Well, his name was Derrick Robertson and he was a child killer. He murdered young children." "Why?" Jeanette asked. 'Well, first off, he was deeply disturbed. That's obvious. But, no one could figure out why he was disturbed. I think he was just plain crazy. But, as for a more concrete reason, he said at the trial, when asked why he did what he did, that kids annoyed him, and he that always got rid of what annoyed him." "Dude, that's just messed up." Alvin said. "And that's not the half of it. You haven't heard his method of murder yet." 'How'd he do it?" Cash asked. "He set fire to their houses. He'd smash windows and throw Molotov cocktails into their bed rooms at night. And, unfortunately, his Molotov's were concocted in a such a way that they burned twice as fast as normal ones. And so, more often than not, the kids he targeted didn't survive his attack." "But he was caught." Brittany said. "Yeah, but only after he'd killed about ten kids unfortunately. But, still, he was caught and convicted. Then, he was sentenced to death by lethal injection." "And then he went to hell, where he became a demon." Simon said. " Nah, Simon. He was already a demon before he died. It's just that the ugly was on the inside." Alvin said. "Yeah, your right. Thank God he's no longer a problem." "Yeah, but this still makes you wonder, what sort of beast is man?" "I don't know. But, I do know that for every bad one out there, there's a lot more good. Our family proves that." " Amen, Simon."


	155. Chapter 155

New Munks

Return of the demon

(Hours later) "Night, everybody." Alvin called. The munks were on their way to bed. "Night." Everyone called back, as they all head off to their separate rooms. Each couple, had one room each in the castle. The kids had two rooms all their own. Xavier, Vinny, Dave, And Miss Miller all had their own rooms. Tom noticed Helen shiver as she headed to her and the other girls' room. "You cold, Nell?" "No." "Then why'd you shiver?" "II just had this weird feeling go through me and it made me shiver." "Well, it wasn't a breeze. There aren't any windows in this hallway." "I know." "So, what caused the feeling then?" "I don't know exactly. But, I can tell you this. Something doesn't feel right here." "Is it your powers warning you? You know, like when you had that freaking dream that warned us about those Vampires in Australia?" "I don't know. Could be. Maybe I'll have another dream like that and then I'll know." "Alright. And if you have one of those dreams, you come tell me, and we'll deal with it." "We won't ask anyone else to help?" "Nah, not unless we have to. You saw how they look. Everybody's still kinda tired from the plane ride. I mean, mom said she feels like she's still jet lagging, and it's all I can do to keep my eyes open." "Yeah, 'yawn' that was a long flight." "Yeah. But, even so. If you have one of those dreams again, come wake me up and tell me about it." "Will do." "Good. 'yawn' Okay. Time to hit the hay, baby sis." "Yeah. Good night." "Good night." Helen went to bed nervous, but at the same time, some what comforted. She took solace in the fact that, no matter what happened, her brother would ride out the storm with her. He would battle whatever was causing the feeling for her, even though she was fully capable of doing that herself. Just to protect her from anymore danger on this trip. Just because he loved her, as a brother should. "I love my brother so much." Helen thought as she entered the girls room. "Everything okay, Nell?" Eliza asked. "Uh, Yeah." "Uh huh. We heard you talking with Tom." "uh, y-you did?" "Well, you were talking kinda loud." Olivia said. "I see." Eliza walked over and put her arm around Helen's shoulders. "Listen, Nellie. You don't have to tell us what's going on. Just know that Tom's not the only one behind you. Okay?" Helen looked over to Olivia. Olivia nodded. "I see. Thanks, girls." "No problem. And hey, maybe your bad feeling is just some sort of reaction to all that talk about that Robertson, demon guy. And being in this old castle probably doesn't help either." Olivia said. 'Hey yeah. I didn't think about that. Yeah, that's a definite possibility. Thanks, Libby. I feel better now." "Your welcome." "Man, Libby. You just about always know what to say." Eliza said. "Just like Aunt Eleanor." "Yeah, I guess. Well, we should get to bed." 'Right. Goodnight, girls." Helen said. 'Night." Helen laid down and went to sleep, confident that the whole incident was all in her head. However, a few hours, she was awakened by shouting. "What the hell is this thing?!" She heard her Grandfather Xavier shout. She quickly jumped out of bed and headed to where all the noise was coming from. She ran out onto a large balcony to see her father, her uncles, and Xavier of course, locked in fierce combat with some sort of creature. "It's the demon! Look at his face!" Stan cried, as he rushed the creature, only to be knocked back. "Great. Old Derrick's back and stronger than ever." Alvin said. "Yeah. But so are we." Simon said. "He wants a rematch boys, so let's give it to him!" Cash cried. "Yeah!" The others yelled as they all rushed the demon. However, the demon merely waved his arm and swatted them all away. "Damn it." Alvin cried as he hit the ground. "Damn, he's been working out since we beat him and sent him back to hell." Cash said. "Man, we need Molly and her friends' help." Simon said. 'Yeah, it was with their help that we beat him last time." Theodore said. "Yeah, well, they're happy where they are now. So we're just gonna have to make do. Now, let's try this again. Get him!" Alvin cried as he led the next charge. The men got knocked away again. "What is going on?" Helen wondered out loud. She had been watching in pretty much awe until right now. She had seen monsters, but to see an actual man turned into a literal demon was an all together different thing. It was terrifying, and yet somehow captivating. Helen had been captivated by all this until now. "Well it's obvious isn't it, Nell?" Tony asked. "This thing just showed up out of nowhere and started attacking our dads." "It's the same demon the guys fought years ago." Vinny said. "But, why is he here?" Helen asked. "You heard your dad, Nell." Eliza said. "He's looking for round two of their fight. He's been gone all this time, training I guess, and now he's back for another shot." "But how did he know we were here?" "That I don't know." "He must've sensed us talking about him. And that led him to us." Stan said. "Damn it! I shouldn't have brought it up!' "You couldn't have known, Stan. And even if you hadn't brought it up, I think he still would've found us. This wasn't avoidable." Jeanette said. "Arg!" Alvin cried in pain. "Alvin!" Brittany cried. She stepped towards him. "No, Britt! Stay where you are! And keep the kids out of this like we told you! We'll take care of this." "Okay. I will." "But, you guys still need help." She thought. " Let me go, mom! I'm gonna clobber that thing!" Tom cried. "No, Tom. Your father said to keep you and Nell out of this, and that's what I'm gonna do." "But, mom!" 'This is no time to complain, Tom. I know it's hard to watch, but you have to trust your father." "But, I..." tom looked to Helen. Judging by the look on his face, Helen guessed that Tom wanted her to read his mind, so that no one could hear them. "You connected?" "Yeah." "Good. You think this is what was giving you that bad feeling?" "No doubt. I've got that feeling right now. It has to be the same thing. Man, I was hoping that I was imagining the whole thing. Arg! I should've told everyone, no matter what you said. I'm so stupid!" "No your not, Nell. If one's stupid here, it's me. But, what's done is done and you can't change the past. We can only worry about the future. We have to start doing something to help, no matter what dad said. So, think you can mind break that thing?" "I'll try." Helen tried her mind break, but was forced back. "Ah!" She cried out. "What's wrong Nell?" Katrina asked. "I just tried to mind break that thing and it forced me back. But, I did sense something about it. It's more demon than man now. It's nothing but pure, unadulterated evil." " Pure evil bent on revenge." Dave muttered. "Ah man, now we know that our dad's definitely need help. Think you can stop him up with your telekinesis, Nell?" Tony asked. "I'll try." Helen tried, but to no avail. "It's no good. There's nothing solid in it to lift." The family realized they could only watch. And that's what they did. For the next ten minutes they watched as the demon thrashed the men. But, eventually, it showed it's new, stronger powers by expanding one hand to a huge size and grabbing all of the men at once. This caused their weapons to fly out of their hands and land near the kids. It then began to squeeze them, trying to crush them. At this point, the mother munks couldn't watch anymore and charged the monster, only to be grabbed by the creature's other hand and placed in the same situation as their husbands and grandfather. Tom picked up his father's dropped sword. " Come on guys, we have to save them!"

New munks

The strike of Orochi

The children grabbed their fathers' weapons and rushed the creature, trying to free their parents and Grandfather. Helen and Ben stayed behind to guard everyone else. The four armed kids fought with every ounce of strength they had in their young bodies. But, even with his hands literally full, the demon was still able to hold them off with a series of powerful kicks. He caught Eliza in the shoulder with one such kick and sent her spiraling into Olivia. He then kicked them both into Tony. Tom took advantage of the creature turning it's back to him. He slashed the creature's back as hard as he could, thankful that his father's sword could do some real damage to the creature. The creature roared in pain, but did not release it's captives. Tom prepared to slash again when the demon whipped around and head butted him, knocking him off balance. It then swept him off his feet and kicked him over into his cousins, who were just now getting up. The children recovered quickly and were right back into it. Helen watched helpless. She prayed for some sort of help. "Please, God. Send my family the help they need to beat this monster!" While Helen prayed, the other kids. Kept attacking the demon. They battled on and on, continuously getting knocked down and getting back up. However, after about five more minutes, the demon unleashed a massively powerful series of kicks, leaving the kids prone on the floor of the balcony. "Damn it!" Eliza swore. "I can't move!" "Me either. That last attack must've temporarily paralyzed us." Tony said in pain. "We have to get up. We have to save our parents!" Olivia said. They began to struggle to get up. The demon saw this and kicked them all into the nearby wall. This knocked Eliza, Tony and Olivia out cold, but Tom stayed conscious. "I will not black out! I will win this! I will win! I have to win!" Tom said, as he willed himself to his feet. He then looked at the demon. 'Come on, you evil bastard. This isn't over yet!" Tom charged once more, and the demon kneed him in the stomach and then kicked him in the same spot. Tom staggered but did not fall. "I will not go down! I'm gonna win!" Tom then tried to slash the demon again. It hit him in the knee, forcing him to down onto the other one. The creature stared him down. "Take this!" He cried as he thrust the blade up towards the demons head. It dodged and then kicked him in the side of the head, finally knocking him out. "Tom!' Helen cried as her brother hit the floor. 'Oh man, Tom." Ben muttered. "What do we do now?" Dave asked out loud. The demon went back to squeezing the parents. "Stop it!" Dave cried, an air of hopelessness in his voice. "I have to do something. But what?" Helen and Ben both wondered. Meanwhile, Tom's mind was lying in darkness. "Why couldn't I win? Is it because I'm not strong enough? That's it, isn't it? I'm not strong enough. I need more power." "And we'll give it to you." Tom heard a familiar voice say. "Andy?" He saw seven lights appear all around him. They turned into people, some of which Tom knew. Those people were Andy, Kirsty, Agito, Macy and the very munk he was named after, his Grandfather Tom. 'You guys. You came to help?" 'Of course. We're your guardian angels Tom. We have to." Kirsty said. "Sorry it took us so long to decide to jump in though." Macy said. "It's alright, so long as your here now. Um, who are they?" Tom asked about the two people he didn't recognize. " Oh right, you've never seen them before have you?" Andy asked. "Well, allow me to introduce you Tom. This is Sam and Mandy." "Sam and Mandy? As in Grandma and Grandpa?" "That's right, bud." Sam said. "We're here to help." Mandy said. "Great, thank you. So, what do we do now?" "Well, how about we all attack him at once?" The other Tom asked. "But, we tried that and it didn't work." "Ah, but your forgetting something." "What's that, Grandpa?" "Well, as you know, normal weapons can't hurt a spirit, like that demon. But your dad's sword can." "Yeah, I know that. Problem is, it's faster than me. I thought I was faster than it, but I was wrong." "Yeah, but, here's a thought. Why try to out maneuver something, when you can make it stop moving altogether?" "How do I do that?" "Simple. Use us. See, unless a spirit wants to touch you, you can't touch it. But, there's no rule that says other spirits can't grab a spirit and hold it in place..." "While I cut it in half!" "Bingo, kiddo. So, what do you say, you ready?" "Yeah, let's do this." Tom rocketed back in to the real world. He staggered to his feet and looked around. He saw all seven spirits standing around him, proving he hadn't dreamed any of that. "Alright then. Let's take this thing. You ready, little Tom?" Tom asked. "Oh yeah, Grandpa. But first, everybody into the sword." "Uh, Okay. But, why?" Sam asked. "Well, I figure that if your gonna take out a monster like this, you might as well do it with a big flashy attack." Agito snickered. "Your father let's you watch too much television." "Maybe so, but you can't deny that whatever he's got in mind is gonna be cool." Tom said. 'I suppose not. Alright, everyone, into the blade." The seven spirits went into the blade. "Alright, what now?" Tom heard Agito ask. "When I say this attack's name, all of you burst out of the sword and punch the demon. Then hold him down. I'll finish him off." "Alright. Let's do this." Suddenly, Tom heard Helen yell. "We've got no other choice. Let's get him, Ben!" "Right!" The two young munks had decided that they had to try to fight the thing themselves. Tom rushed out in front of them. 'What? Tom?" Helen asked. "Leave this to me, Nell." 'But, he already beat you." Ben said. "Yeah, but now I've got help." "Where? Where's the help?" Helen asked. "Let's just say that there's a lot of people watching out for us." Tom held up the sword. "And they're all in this sword. Watch this!" Tom walked towards the demon, who was busy trying to crush the adults. "Hey, ugly!" Tom called. The demon turned. "Good, I got your attention. Now, you beat me up pretty good, but now I've got the power to destroy you now. But to be fair, I'm gonna give you one last chance. Let my family go!' The creature squeezed the adults tightly. "Fine have it your way." Tom held the sword up. "In this sword are seven souls. And with my own soul, that makes eight. Eight souls with one goal: to take you out! So get ready! Cause this is the last thing you get to see!" Tom raised the sword above his head. "I've named this attack after one of the most powerful monsters in Japanese myth! I call it the strike of orochi!" " That's our cue. Let's get him!" Andy said and then lead the charge. Andy rushed the demon and punched it square in the jaw, causing him to drop the parents. The other spirits followed suit. The demon reeled and the seven souls grabbed him. The young Tom then rushed forward and cried "and I make eight!" He then slashed the demon in half. "We win. Now go to hell." The demon roared as he disintegrated. Tom smiled and then collapsed. "Tom!" All the spirits called. "I'm alright. Just tired." The spirits nodded. 'Thanks for all your help, guys." "No problem, sport." Sam said. "We were happy to do it." Macy said. "Plus, that was fun." The elder Tom said. "Yeah. Well, I think everything's okay for now. So, why don't you guys take five?" Tom asked. "Okay, kiddo." "But remember, Tom. We're always here for you." Mandy said. Tom nodded. The spirits waved goodbye and disappeared. Tom fell over, staring up into the night sky. "See you later, guys."


	156. Chapter 156

**New munks**

**Ikebana**

**(Two hours later) "How long are you gonna stay up, dad?" Helen asked. Cash was sitting beside Tom, who was in bed, sleeping off the battle. "I don't know, Nell. I know he's alright now, and technically speaking, I should be in bed too, but…" 'I understand, daddy." Helen looked at her brother. "You think I'll ever be as strong as Tom is, daddy?" "You already are, Nell. You'd have to be in order to take on Gina like you did." " But, Daddy, it was dark Helen that really finished off Gina, not the normal me." "True, but, think about this, Helen. You held your ground against Gina for quite a long time, before she pulled that fast on us. Same goes for Tom. Tom fought his hardest until he got the help he needed. So, you see. Your not weaker than your brother, you just fight different kinds of enemies. Otherwise, your equals. I'm sure Tom would tell you the same thing." "You think so?" "I just said I was sure, didn't I? I'm positive Tom would say the same thing. You guys together form one complete Ikebana." "Huh?" 'Oh, right. I've never said that to you before, have I? Well, let me explain. Agito once explained to me what the word Ikebana means. In Japanese, it's more than a surname. In Japan, Ikebana is an art form. It is the art of arranging flowers, but not in the way that's done in the states. In Japan, it's much more than that. In Japan, it is a disciplined art form that teaches the merging of man and nature. During the time a person is practicing it, they become closer to nature, and en tandem, become relaxed, which allows them to be more tolerant of things they might not tolerate otherwise. Such as the differences in nature, amongst other things. And that's how Agito lived his life. He tried to be calm and relaxed, so that he could be tolerant of the differences, the abnormal things if you will, that life will through at you." "Like a talking a chipmunk baby washing up on shore near your campsite?" "Exactly. I think it was that philosophy on life, plus his own kindness, that allowed him to take me in and raise me. But, there's more to this philosophy than that." "What else is there?" "Well, Agito said that the Ikebana art form inspires relaxation in all three of, what he called, the three main aspects of life. Those are the mind, the spirit, and the body." "And the art form relaxes those three." "Right. But, Agito's life philosophy took it a bit farther. He said that, in order to have that relaxation all the time, instead of for just a few moments a day, one had to maintain balance between the three main aspects. Once balanced, those three will no longer conflict with one another, and life can be peaceful." "I see." 'And, Agito passed this belief on through the family. He believed that true Ikebanas should be able to find this balance. This is the only thing he really pressured any member of the family about. If they looked 'unbalanced', he'd tell them to calm themselves, and try to obtain the balance again. He did this because he wanted his family to live peaceful lives. But, he also knew that life was dangerous. Though they were supposed to be living peacefully, he knew that he and his family would have to defend themselves." "Which is why he came up with the family fighting style." 'Right. And, his philosophy spilled into this. That's why there's two stages. Stage one is mostly body, with a little bit of mind thrown in. The strength and reflexes of the body help to gather information about how the opponent works, so that the mind can decide whether the warrior can beat his proponent with just stage one or not." "And if it decides that the warrior can't…" "Now your catching on. Maybe I oughta start training you too, cause understanding that is pretty much lesson one. Yes, that's when stage two comes into play. In stage two, the warrior adds the rest of his mind and all of his spirit to the forces already at work, by putting his own spin on things. Agito said that he believed that a warrior needed to be flexible. Able to adapt. Those that can't, or won't for whatever reason, can be strong sure, but they will eventually break. He compared those kinds of warriors to the task of trying to bend a rock. The rock, no matter what you do, will not bend. Like a warrior that will not deviate from the style he's learned and loves, the rock will not stop being a solid object. And so, no matter how much force you put on it, the rock will not bend." 'It'll break." "Righto, kiddo. Man, I'm starting to think that I should start training you more and more. You want me to?" "Let me think about it. Now, please, explain what you originally said. How me and Tom, working together, form one complete Ikebana." "Okay. Well, like I said, Agito compared those inflexible warriors to rocks. He compared ikebana warriors to rivers, able to bend and shape themselves to fit the situation they find themselves in. And that is because, Agito said, they had the balance. Now, as for you and Tom, you each have about half the requirements. You see, Your powers could be looked at as the incarnation of the mind and, as the power of the body is always present for obvious reasons, you have about half the body." 'Since I'm only half the size of an average warrior." "Right. And Tom is the other way around. He's more inclined to the spirit portion, and carries the other half of the body. You put you two together and you make one balanced warrior." "I see. I understand." "I'm glad you do." Cash and Helen were both shocked to hear tom's voice. "Tom! How, how long have you been awake?" Cash asked. "Ever since you started telling Nell about the Ikebana philosophy and all that other stuff." "I see." " You know, I'm glad you understand things so fast, Nell. When dad first laid all that on me, it made my brain hurt. Shoot, it gave me a headache that throbbed for a week. And, though all of that seeped in a long time ago, it still hurts to have all those things on my mind at the same time. There ain't no doubt, baby sis. Your smarter than me, and you always will be." "Maybe, but, you'll always be more courageous than me. I mean, the things that you've done, like giving up one of your kidneys for example, I'd love to say that I could do too. But, I just don't think I got in me. Heh, I can fight crazy psychic ladies, but I can't bear the thought of being cut open like that. It's kinda pathetic in a way. No doubt, big bro. You braver than me." " Well, I gotta be, cause I made a promise a long time ago, to protect you no matter what. I know you can handle yourself but.." Helen stopped her brother by kissing his cheek. "I understand, and I love you too." Cash couldn't help but smile while he watched this. Finally, he clapped his hands and then placed them on his kids heads, while saying "Well, I love both of you, and I'm proud of you too. You both faced your enemies for the sake of your family, without any fear. That's what Agito kept telling me. He once said. "Remember this, Cash. When some one or something threatens the ones you love, don't ever back down. Don't ever give the bad guys an inch, cause they'll end up taking a mile.'" "You know, I've heard Grandpa Dave say that before. 'If you give so and so an inch, they'll take a mile.' Now, I get the message. If you give somebody something good, they'll want a whole lot more. But, What I wanna know is, where does that saying come form? Who made that up?" "Huh, that's a good question, Tom. I don't know." "Do you, Nell?" "Uh-uh." "You think Uncle Simon would?" "I don't know, kiddo. Simon's smart, but not even he can know everything." Tom nodded. "Oh, he's awake!" Cash looked to the door. 'Ely.'**

**New Munks**

**Family **

"**Hey, guys." Eleanor said. "How long have you been standing there, Ely?" "I just got here a second ago. I came to check up on you guys. How is everybody?" "I'm a little sore, but I'm alright." Cash said. "And you know I don't have a scratch on me." Helen said. Eleanor nodded. "How are you, Tom?" "Fine. A little tired, little sore, but still, I'm okay. How're you and everybody else, Aunt Eleanor?" 'Well, me and the other adult munks are like your dad. We're a little sore from where Mr. Robertson tried to crush us, but other than that we're okay. Well, maybe not completely okay." "What do you mean, Ely?" Cash asked. "Well, Katrina and I are both perfectly alright. We don't have any injuries that won't heal in a couple of days. But, Jeanette and Brittany are another story." "did they get hurt worse than everybody else?" "Not from what I could see." "Then what's the matter?" "Well, they both checking their stomachs for damage. Which is odd, since the demon had his hands wrapped around our arms and legs, not our stomachs. So, our stomachs would be fine. And so, I wonder why they checking themselves like that." "Well, you know Brittany. She thinks the tiniest scratch to her 'perfect' stomach is a travesty." "Yeah, but, what about Jeanette? I mean, Brittany's one thing. You could expect that from her. But, Jeanette's way different. I know she cares about her looks, as much as anyone would, but she wouldn't let a few bruises to the gut worry her. No, I think something else is up with her. But, I don't know what." "Me neither. Hmph, for all I know she could be pregnant, and so she's checking herself cause she's worried about what the demon squeezing her could of done the baby.." " 'gasp' You could be right, Cash! I mean, I've noticed that she looks a little bigger than normal. Come to think of it, Brittany looks like she's put on a little weight too, which is unusual for her. And I know that they were both thinking about trying to have another baby. The signs are all there, so, maybe they are pregnant. But, if they are, why haven't they told us yet?" "Well, you gotta keep a few things in mind, Ely. First, we know from experience that a anthropomorphic chipmunk pregnancy is only four months long. And, we know a pregnant chipette doesn't seriously start showing until about a month into the pregnancy. Now, they've gotten a little bigger but, I wouldn't exactly call them pregnant just yet. I'm not saying they aren't, but I'm not saying they are either. Cause, after all, we've all been eating a little rich lately." 'Well, I gotta admit that." "Right. And so, their slightly bigger look could just be from accidental over eating." "Yeah, but then, why would they be meticulously checking themselves like they were?" "Well, like I said, I'm not saying they are, and I'm not saying they're not. It's too soon to be sure. We'll just have to wait until we either get home and they can go get checked by good ol' Doc Samson, or until they start seriously showing." "Yeah, your right. But, now I wanna know why they haven't brought this up to us. I mean, they'd surely notice changes in their bodies, right?" "Well, maybe their just holding out until they can find out for sure from Ken. No sense in getting everyone worked up over nothing, right?" 'Hmm, good point. But, I'd still like to talk to them about it. I mean, we all promised to have no secrets in this family." "Like I said, Ely. I might not be a secret. I'm not trying to speak ill of my sisters but, maybe they've just gotten a little fatter. It happens when you eat like we've been eating for past while. So, maybe there is no secret. Like I said, we won't know until they can find out for sure. And they probably don't wanna tell us until they know. So, just be patient and wait until they're ready." "Well, okay." "Aunt Eleanor?" "Yeah, Tom?" "You never did tell me how Liz, and Libby, and Tony are." "Oh, right. Sorry. They're fine, Tom. They've got some bruises and some bad headaches from the demon knocked them out, but they'll live." "Good. I was worrying about them." 'I'm sure they appreciate your concern, Tom. I know I do." Eleanor leaned in and kissed her nephew's cheek. 'That was just a little thank you, for all you did for us. I love you, Tom." "I love you too, Aunt Eleanor." Eleanor nodded. "Well, I'd better go tell everyone he's up." "Okay. We'll be waiting in here." "Okay. Be back in a minute." Eleanor left the room. Tom rubbed his cheek, where Eleanor had kissed him. "What's the matter, Tom?" Cash asked. "I was just wondering if all the girls in my family are going to kiss my cheek tonight. I mean, Nell's kissed it and now Aunt Eleanor has to. Are the other girl's going to too?" "After saving them from something like that demon, they probably will. But, it's not like you don't like it, right?" 'Well, no. I don't hate it or anything. I was just wondering." "I bet I know one girl that you want a kiss from more than any other right now." Helen said. 'Oh yeah? And who is that?" Tom asked. "Well, Roxy, of course. You want a kiss from Miss Roxanne Chipmunk right now, am I wrong?" "Well, no. I would like a kiss from her right now. I kinda miss her." "Well, just be patient sport. We'll be heading home soon enough." Cash said. Tom nodded. "You big show off!" They heard. They turned to see Eliza standing in the door way, with everyone else behind her. Eliza marched into the room, right towards Tom. " I heard what happened after me, and Libby and Tony got knocked out. Man, it's not enough that you got to fight along side our guardian angels? You had to name the attack you used? The strike of Orochi? Man, what is wrong with you? You teamed up with seven angels, and took out a demon! Isn't that enough?!" Tom smiled. "I'm glad your okay too, Liz.' Eliza shook her fists. "Oh! I want to, but I can't get mad at you right now! Dang it!" Tom smiled again. "I love you too, Liz." "Oh, stop talking like that. Oh! Give me a hug." Tom hugged Liz. "You know I love you, cuz." Eliza said. " Yeah, I know." Suddenly, Olivia joined in the hug. "And I love you too." Alvin laughed a little bit. 'Heh, it's one big, family love fest in here." He said. "Sure is." Brittany agreed. Eliza and Olivia released Tom. "Um, hey, Tom?" Eliza asked. "Yeah?" "Um, Ben told me about me about our guardian angels. He told me who he saw. He said he saw Andy, and Kirtsy, and your Grandma Macy, and your Grandpa Agito, and Grandpa Tom. But, he said he saw two he didn't know. He said they were both chipmunks though. Who were they?" "They were Grandpa Sam and Grandma Mandy." "Really?" Olivia asked. "Yeah." "Well, don't keep us in the dark. What did they look like?" "Well, Grandpa looked like one of those guys that you could just tell by looking at him that he was wiser than his years, and would be really cool to hang out with." "Kinda like your dad here?" Stan asked. 'Well, yeah. It kinda felt like I was listening to dad when Grandpa said something to me. He didn't say a lot but, you know." The others nodded. "What about Grandma Mandy?" Olivia asked. "She was beautiful. No doubt, she's where our moms get their good looks from. I remember, she had really light brown hair and her eyes were like Tony's. One green and one blue. Oh! I just remembered. Grandpa Sam had brown eyes, like Aunt Eleanor." "Well, that's all good to know. But, we should get back to bed. We can talk more about this in the morning." Vinny said. " Right. Good night, Tom. We all love you." Katrina said. "I know, mom. That's why this family's worth fighting for."**


	157. Chapter 157

**New munks**

**Early morning surprise**

**(the next morning)"I hate this doing this crap!" Todd shouted. He was at chipmunk records, doing paper work in his office. Todd looked up at the pile of papers that sat on his desk, still waiting for his signature, then to the pile of forms he had already signed. "I've barely made a dent. I had no idea we were this far behind on paperwork. I came in this early, hoping I could get all this done before anybody else shows up, and then I could spend the rest of the day doing whatever I wanted. But, at this rate, I'll still be doing this junk when everybody goes home at five. Speaking of time, what time is it?" Todd looked at the clock on the wall. It read six thirty. " You've gotta be kidding me! I've only been here half an hour!? I feel like I've been here for three! Oh, Why me?! Out of everybody that coulda got this job, why me? I mean, I like everybody that works here, and they treat me real good too, but, come on! This is too much for one guy! Ugh!" Todd grabbed his head as he stared at the yet to be signed documents. "I gotta be losing it to insomnia, cause it feels like those papers are laughing at me." Todd stared a little more. "Oh, shut up!" Todd yelled at the papers as he angrily shoved the them off of his desk and onto the floor. "Oh man, I'm losing it. I need some sleep." Todd looked up and at the long couch that sat along the far wall. Alvin referred to this couch as the 'wfai' couch, which was short for 'waiting for an interview' couch. It was here that job applicants sat and waited for an interview. He had barely even touched it in the past, let alone laid down on it, but right now, it looked like an inviting bed. "Well, this ain't home, and that isn't my bed, and that plant next to that couch will never be my beautiful wife but, beggars can't be choosers. Yeah, I'm just gonna lay down for a little bit." Todd got up and walked towards the couch. 'Yeah, I'm just gonna take a little rest, and then I'll get cracking on that paperwork again… wait a minute." It now dawned on Todd what he had done to the paperwork. "Oh crap!" Todd scrambled to pick up the paper work, as if the floor was going to destroy it if he didn't pick it up in time. "Oh man, please still let these things be in order. Oh please, God. Please let them be in order." Todd prayed. Todd checked the papers. "Near as I can tell, their still in order. Phew! Thank you, God." Todd tapped the papers on the edge of the desk, in order to make them into a neat pile again. While he did this, he thought about how he needed help. "'sigh' Man, you'd think that, with all the people Cash brings to me, looking for a job here, you'd think that, just once, he'd find somebody with management credentials. Come on, Cash. Do me a solid and bring somebody who can help me back from this trip you guys are on. Oh, please, God. If be your will, let him find somebody to help me." Todd began to question why he still did this job, when he had more than enough money saved back already to retire happily. It was then that he noticed the small picture frame that sat on his desk. He picked it up and looked at it. In the frame was a family picture of himself and his two little girls, which had been taken by his wife. Under the picture, the phrase 'do it for them' was inscribed on the frame. Todd had had this particular frame custom made a year ago, when he noticed how often he complained about the stress of his job. That phrase was inscribed to remind him what, at least most importantly, made this job worth doing. Above all else, it was worth doing because it provided ample money for his daughters' college funds. "If it wasn't for them, I probably would've quit a long time ago. Heh, now that I think about it, what right do I have to complain, when their futures are on the line? None, absolutely none. A little stress is nothing compared to being forced to realize that your dreams can't come true, cause your family doesn't have enough money. That being said, I'd better get back to work. The more time I waste complaining, the less time I have to get this done, and the less right I have to give myself overtime pay.. Or is it more accurate to say 'beforetime' pay? Ah, whatever. Can't be thinking about that. Gotta get to work. Sorry sleep, your gonna have to wait. Now, let's get crackin' again." Todd began to work with renewed vigor. He worked for a few hours, interrupted only by having to let Charlene and Harry in at eight thirty. Finally, at nine o'clock on the dot, he was done. "Ha ha! Done! Finally! And look at that. I get to have my lazy day after all. Ha, yes! And now…sleep." Todd said as he slumped back into his chair. No sooner had he done this than he saw the red, 'you've got mail', light began flashing on his laptop. " It's probably somebody wanting to book the munks for something. And, in that case, their gonna have to wait, since the guys are on a trip." Todd knew that because, every time the munks private jet was needed, two people were alerted. Xavier first, in order to have him go and get the plane ready, and then Todd, to let him know that the munks will be gone for a while. "Eh, I got nothing else to do. Might as well take a look at it." Todd opened the mail. He immediately took notice of the official looking font and background. "Okay, this is different. Who's this from? The president?" Todd began to read. "Dear Mr. Bernstein. I hope this e-mail finds you well. You might not remember me, but I remember you. Allow me to refresh your memory. You may recall going to the grand opening of Mr. Derringer's ski resort with the chipmunks. You may also recall that there was an avalanche, during which one of the chipmunks ( Cash I believe it was) had to ski down the mountain as quickly as possible, with a terrified little girl hanging onto his back. Now, after this, the chipmunks played a small concert in order to, I assume, calm the people at the resort down. After that, the chipmunks were standing around, talking with Mr. Derringer. You should recall a young Sultan from Egypt approached you all and said some, admittedly harsh and cruel things, to Mrs. Brittany Seville. It was then that her husband, Alvin Seville, punched the Sultan in the face and knocked him to the ground. He then proceeded to say some, some what deep, things to the sultan, which caused a change of heart in the sultan. The Sultan admitted he was wrong and apologized to Brittany, then shook Alvin's hand and left. I assume you remember all of that. Now, you may be wondering how I know all of this. It's simple. I am that Sultan. My name is Khalid. It is nice to have an official introduction with you, Mr. Bernstein. Now, down to business. I am pleased to inform you that I have found the woman who does for me what Brittany does for Alvin. And, I am even more pleased to tell you that she will be my bride soon. I wish to invite the chipmunks to our wedding. Since it was with the help of a member of your group's words that I got to this point, I wish for them to attend. However, I have a problem. I got your e-mail address from the chipmunk records web site, however no contact information for the chipmunks themselves is listed. I wish to invite them personally, but I can't do that without their e-mail addresses. Now, I know you can't just give me this information, since anyone willing to try could get it by hacking your e-mail or mine. So, I ask you to let them know what's going on and then contact me with their answer. I thank you for your time." The letter ended. "Holy crap! Is this for real?! Y-yeah, it has to be. No one else could know all of that. Whoa! I gotta e-mail Simon, right now!"**

**New munks**

**To the land of pyramids**

**Back in Ireland, the chipmunks were spending the morning laying around Stand Mary's castle, as most of them were still sore. As Simon tried to take a nap on the couch in the living room, Tony came walking through. Tony noticed a blinking red light on his father's laptop on the nearby table. "Um, dad?" "Yeah, Tony?" "Your laptop has a couple of flashing lights on it right?" 'Yeah. One's for letting me know that I have mail and the other's to tell me that the battery's dying. Why?" "One of them is flashing." "Huh?" Simon looked to his laptop. "So it is. That's the one that let's me know I have mail. I'd better check it. Thanks for letting me know, Tony." "No problem, dad." "Okay, let's see who this is from." Simon checked the sender address. "It's from Todd." "An email from, Todd?" Simon heard. He turned around to see Jeanette. "Oh, yeah. Um, how long have you been standing there, honey?" "A few seconds. I came to see if you were okay." "I'm fine. I'm more concerned about you. You and the possible, well, you know." "Yeah." Tony was confused by his parents talking. "Um, what are you talking about?" he asked. "Oh, um, nothing, dear. We're just trying to think with a couple of half asleep minds is all. Don't worry yourself about it." Jeanette said. Tony shrugged and then turned to his father, to see what the e-mail was about. Jeanette didn't feel right about lying to her son but, she figured it was best for right now. "No sense in getting his hopes up if there's a chance I might not be going to have another baby. Oh, I can't wait to get home and get tested, so I can get this weight off my shoulders." "So, what's Todd want, dad?" "I don't know, son. The subject heading just says 'Please read!' Let's open it and find out." "Okay." Simon opened the email and read. "Whoa. Jeanette, check this out." Jeanette leaned over the couch and read the email. "Is he serious?" "He seems to be. This is big." "Sure is." 'Oh, man, we gotta show everybody!" 'Yeah, especially Alvin and Brittany." 'Yeah. Tony, quick. Go round up everybody and bring them in here." "You got it dad." Tony shot out of the room and began looking for everyone. "Man, this is big. The chipmunks, us, invited to a sultan's wedding. I don't think there are any bands around today that have had this honor." "Yeah. It makes you feel special, doesn't it? I know it makes me feel special." "Yeah, me too. And imagine Al and Britt's reaction." "They're gonna flip. Just utterly flip." Just then, they heard. "I swear, if this is some stupid video that Todd thinks we just have to see, I'm gonna deck him when we get home." That was Alvin. Simon got up as everyone entered the room. "Actually, Alvin, this is much better. Here, read this. You too, Brittany." Alvin and Brittany read the email. "Wow an invite to a sultan's wedding. This is big." Alvin said. "That's what I said. This is an honor. The only thing I could think of that could be better is being knighted by the queen of England." "We'll work on our knighthoods later, Sy. Right now, give me that thing!" Alvin snatched the laptop out of Simon's hands. "Everybody wants to go, right?!" 'Yeah!" All the munks shouted. "Okay, I'll let Todd know what to tell the sultan." As Alvin began to type out the reply, Ms. Miller spoke up. "Wait, what about Stan and May here?" "We want you to go, Becky." May said. "I mean, we can have a visit any time, but, how often do you get an invite to a sultan's wedding?" "That's once in a life time, alright." Stan said. "You guys go. We'll have a full visit some other time." "Great. Now I can click send without feeling guilty. There, done. Now, let's go pack." "Right!"**


	158. Chapter 158

New Munks

Kingdom history

"Lord, why didn't we put a TV in this thing!?" Alvin whined. " The chipmunks and family were in the air, heading for the airport in Cairo. As soon as they had left the ground in Ireland, they received another e-mail from Todd. In it, he said that the sultan and his bride to be were overjoyed to hear that the chipmunks could make it and that a driver would be waiting for them at the airport. "If you want to put a TV in the plane so badly, Alvin, then go buy one." Simon said. "I will. Soon as we get home, I'm taking grandpa over there and heading to where they trick out planes. That okay with you, Grandpa?" "Yeah, sure, Alvin. No problem. Soon as we get home, that's what we'll do." "Great." "Mm, mmm." Alvin heard. He looked down to see his daughter getting situated. She, along with several of the other kids, were fast asleep. The last couple of days had finally caught up with them, and so they all decided to take a nap on the plane ride over to Egypt. "How's she doing, Britt?" Eliza's head was resting on Brittany's lap. "Fine, near as I can tell. She's smiling in her sleep, so I'm guessing she's having a good dream." "Probably the princess Eliza dream again. That's her favorite." "Yeah." "Hmm." Theodore said. "What is it, Theo?" Cash asked. "Well, I was wondering something." "What's that?" "Well, I know why the kids fell asleep this time. After all we've been through in the past couple of days, you can't blame them for succumbing to some leftover tiredness. Ah, what the heck am I saying? Leftover? This is fresh tiredness. None of us got much sleep last night, and we're already on a plane, bound for Egypt. So much, so fast. To be honest, I have no idea what's keeping us awake. Some sort of excitement I guess. I mean, it is pretty exciting to get invited to a sultan's wedding, not including the personal part. Hmm, yeah, that makes sense. I think that's what driving us. We're excited, not just to be invited, but we're also excited that a, I guess I can say, friend of ours has finally found some pretty young lady to spend his life with. But, the kids don't have that driving them. At least, not as much as we do. So, like I said, it's easy to see why they're asleep right now. But, what gets me is that, we've been to several different countries in the past few days, and yet, unlike last time, the kids didn't pass out due to jet lag. It's like they're not even feeling. I don't get it." "Well, first off, Theo, you have to keep in mind that the kids are a lot tougher than other kids their ages, and getting tougher all the time. But, if that's not enough for you, think about this. If your exposed to a disease or a condition of some kind enough times, you'll eventually build up an immunity, or at least a resistance to it, right?" "Yeah." "Well, while it's probably not in a medical dictionary, jet lag is still a condition that affects the body. And, as such, I'm sure that if you fly enough, you'll build up a resistance to it. Take us. We've been all over, for tours and stuff. Which means, we've probably built up some sort of resistance to jet lag. Only when we're already tired or something does it affect us. Like, you remember how , back at Stan and May's castle, Kate here said she felt like she was still jet lagging?" "Yeah." "Well, more than likely, she was mentally exhausted from the whole ordeal with Gina." "And I was. Even though I didn't fight, it still wore me out. My brain was still pretty drained when we left Mei-lee's house. Don't know why exactly, but it was." "Right. So, that's why she felt jet lag. If it wasn't for that, Kate would've been fine. But, the kids, they haven't been gone 'country jumping' like we have. Yeah, I know, Tom and Nell have come with me and Kate to Japan before, and all the kids went with us on the Japan tour. And they've been to Mexico and stuff. But, that's only jumping to one country and back. When we went on the Europe tour, that was their first multi-national trip. And so, being as inexperienced in that field as they were, they succumbed to jetlag pretty easily. But, now they're used to it somewhat, so jetlag can't really touch them." "Did you get all that, Theo?" Alvin asked. 'Yeah. Man, Cash. You need to take an I.Q. test. Seriously, sometimes, you sound just a smart as Simon, and sometimes smarter. No offense, Sy." "None taken. I think so too." "Really?" "Yup. Seriously, Cash. Maybe you should take an IQ test." 'Maybe later. Right now, We've got a wedding to get to." "Right." A few hours later, The munks landed in the Cairo international airport, and were promptly greeted by their driver. They were taken to their ride, which turned out to be a large, black, stretch hummer Limousine. They loaded their things, and then loaded up themselves, and then they were off. "Wow. I've never ridden in a Limo like this before. This is cool." Eliza, now wide awake, said. "Yeah, it is pretty cool. I'm amazed at how big it is. There's thirteen of us back here, and we all still have a little bit of elbow room." Tony said. "That's the wonders of modern technology in action for you." Helen said. Alvin looked out the window and noticed they were leaving the city limits of Cairo. "Whoa, whoa! Where's he taking us!? I thought we were going to a castle." "We are." Simon said. " But, Cairo's back that way." "You don't know, do you Alvin?" "I don't know what?" "Khalid's kingdom is a stand alone kingdom, independent of Cairo." "What, really?" "Yup." "But, the girls said they landed in Cairo during our race around the world." "We thought we did." Jeanette said. "But, Simon and I did some research and we pinpointed where we landed. Khalid's kingdom is out in the desert. About a hundred miles or so away from Cairo. It sits on top of a large water deposit, that runs down into the depths of the desert very deep. So, they don't have to worry about water. But, they do have an underground waterline system that runs in from the Nile, that acts as a back up to the natural deposit. Just incase, you know?" Alvin nodded. "On top of that, it just happens to be near a very large, and profitable mineral deposit. Thus, they're top export is minerals." Simon said. 'Okay, cool, but, how'd it come to be? I mean, something's telling me that it wasn't always like this." "And your right, Alvin. See, about fifty years before we were born, an official in Cairo's governing body, got into a huge dispute with the rest of the government. We weren't able to find out exactly what the dispute was over, but it must have been something extremely important. Because, we found, the official got so fed up with the Cairo government because of the dispute that he actually left Cairo, determined to create a new city that wasn't 'corrupt', like he thought Cairo was. He gathered a lot of supporters, and they started a whole new town on top of that water deposit Jeanette mentioned. And, because there were a lot intelligent and determined people involved in building the new town, it grew very quickly. And it's continued to grow over the years, becoming what can only be called a kingdom." "Cool. So, how did Khalid become Sultan?" "Simple. He inherited it. See, Khalid's Grandfather was the very official who had the idea to start the town in the first place and was thus chosen to be the very first Sultan. Later on, he passed the role onto his son, who later passed it on to his son, Khalid." "Hmm, okay. One last thing." "What?" "What's this kingdom called?" "Well, to be honest, I can't pronounce it's name in Arabic. But, in English, it translates as 'the desert light', on account of the fact that it's lit up by numerous street lights at night."

New munks

Trouble in the kingdom

After a long drive, the munks finally arrived at Khalid's palace. They found Khalid and a beautiful young woman waiting for them on the front steps of the palace. They assumed this woman was his bride to be. "Hello my friends. Um, I hope I am allowed to call you that." Khalid said. 'Sure, just so long as you don't make a pass at Brittany." Alvin joked. "Believe me, I won't. I've found my own 'Brittany'." "And this is her?" Alvin asked, looking at the woman. " Yes, that's her." "Well, introduce us." Brittany said. " Right. But, I suppose I should properly introduce myself first. I am Khalid Mubarak, the sultan of this kingdom." "Nice to officially meet you." Cash said. 'Like wise. Now then, as for my queen-to-be." The woman spoke up. Her voice was a beautiful as her face. "Please, let me introduce myself, my love." "But of course. Go right ahead." "Hello to all. My name is Aziza Neferet." Aziza said with a polite bow. " Nice to meet you, Aziza. I'm Alvin." "I know who you all are. Everyone knows the chipmunks." The kids looked at Aziza. 'Oh, and their children of course." "That's better." Eliza said. "Hmm." Simon let out. 'What is it, Sy?" "Oh, I was just thinking about Khalid and Aziza's names. I once read a book about Arabic names, first and last, and their meanings. Let's see. Khalid Mubarak translates as 'immortal blessed one', and Aziza Neferet translates as 'precious beautiful woman'" "Wow. You got some big names, huh?" Alvin asked. 'I guess so. Well, we should be getting inside. Please, come on in. Dinner is just about to be served. My servants will take your things to the guest quarters you'll be staying in." "Well, alright. Lead the way." Alvin said. "Follow us." Khalid said. Khalid and Aziza lead the pack into the large dining hall. Alvin whistled when he saw the impressive room. The whistle echoed for a few moments, due to the room's large size. "Man, this place puts our place to shame, huh Britt?" "You said it." Brittany said. "I thought our place was awesome, but I didn't know what awesome was. But now I do." Eliza said. Tom noticed that Eliza's face seemed to be glazing over. He waved his hand in front of her face. She didn't even blink. 'I think she's in shock." He said. 'She's never seen this much expensive stuff in one place before. So, I guess she's got envy overload.." Olivia said. A thin line of drool began to leak out of the corner of Eliza's mouth. "Alright, that's it." Tom said. He grabbed a hold of Eliza's left ear, pulled it open as far as he could and yelled. "Liz!" Eliza violently shook her head. "Ow! What the heck was that for, Tom?! Ow! Man, My ear is ringing! What'd you do that for?" " You were drooling." "What?" "You saw all of the stuff here in the dining room, froze up and then started to drool." "What? Me? Drool? Over some silly gold and jewels? What a wild imagination you have, Thomas." "Uh huh. Figures you'd say something like that. By the way, you got a little something right here." Tom said, pointing to the corner of his own mouth to show Eliza where her droll line was. Eliza wiped her mouth with her hand and then looked at the drool on it. 'Gee, Liz. What is that? Cause it sure looks like drool to me." "It's not!" "Then what is it?" "Uh, um.. Would you believe that I've got rabies, and this is that foamy spit rabid animals get?" "Not for a second." Tom said. "Yeah, me either. Besides, you'd have to be bitten by some animal that already has rabies, and you haven't been around any wild animals for a long time." Tony said. All of Eliza's cousins looked at her. 'Okay! I admit it! I drooled a little over the nice things in here. But, come on. Can any of you deny that you're thinking about how much you'd like to have some of this stuff?" "We have a little more self control than that, Liz." Tom said. "Oh, can we just eat already, so Tom will shut up?!" Eliza stormed over to the dinner table and took a seat. Aziza began to laugh. "Ah, those silly little arguments they get into. That's one of the reasons I love children. I've always found it hilarious. How they can take something simple and blow it out of proportion. Ah, ha. But, in all seriousness, she has a point. Come, let's sit and have dinner together." The rest of the group took a seat. The meal was soon served. "Uh, do we say grace, or just dig in?" Theodore asked. "Do whatever you normally do at a dinner like this. If you say a prayer, go right ahead. We are a very open minded people here. You can say your prayer, and Aziza and I will say our own." "Okay. Then, you say grace for us, Cash." Alvin said. "Why me?" "Somebody's gotta do it, and your pretty much the patriarch of the family, so you should do it." "Well, alright. Let's all bow our heads." Cash began the prayer for the Seville's, and Aziza and Khalid started their own prayer shortly after. When all prayers were finished, the group dug in." "This is great!" Olivia yelled. The group talked for a while. They came to find out that Khalid had met Aziza while shopping for flowers to put on his grandfather's grave. She was an employee at the shop. "That sounds like a scene out of a romantic comedy movie or something." Jeanette said. "Yes, I suppose it does." Aziza said. "But, I wanna hear about how all of you met." "Well, that's kinda complicated." Alvin said. "Complicated how?" "Complicated as in, it'll take a lot of time to explain." "We've got plenty of time." Khalid said. "Well, alright. Here goes." Alvin spent the next ten minutes explaining everything about the chipmunks and chipettes. "Amazing. So, in essence, Cash and Katrina's relationship was the only that was really 'love at first sight'?" "Guess you could say that." "Call it what you want." Cash said. " All I know is that I'm glad I met Katrina that day, and I'm damn sure glad I married her. And, I also know that I better either die before she does or shortly after, cause I know I'll lose it if I have to live any length of time with out her." "Aw, Cash." Katrina said. "Man, shut up, Cash. Your making the rest of us look bad." Alvin said. Simon and Theodore nodded. "Ignore them, honey." Katrina said, leaning into Cash a little bit. "Wow. I've never seen a love that strong before. I hope you and I can be like that some day, Khalid." "Don't worry. I'm sure we will be." "I'm sorry I'm late, your majesty." The group heard. They looked up to see a man, who looked no older than Khalid, standing in the doorway. "Um, am I interrupting something?" "No, not really. Everyone, this is my chief advisor, and long time friend, Shu." "Nice to meet you." Shu said. "Why are you so late, Shu?" Aziza asked. " You were supposed to be outside to great the Seville family with us. What kept you?" "I was going over the treasury report and it takes a while to go over all of it. But, somebody has to do it." " Well, I suppose that's true. But, now your free, so please sit and eat with us." "I thought you'd never say that. I'm so hungry right now, I could eat a whole camel." "Well, sit down and eat already. We've already said the prayers." "Great." Shu sat down. A servant brought him a plate of food. "Here you are, Master Shu." "Thank you. Ah, it looks so good. Just like always.' Shu began to eat. 'Well, Sy?" "Well what, Alvin?" "What's Shu's name mean? I mean, you're the one who knows all this." "Oh. Uh, let me think. Shu, uh, oh! Shu means air in Arabic." "An elemental name, huh?" Cash asked. "Yes." Shu said. "My mother said she named me that because, when I was born, I weighed so little that she felt like she was holding air when she held me." Talk about your light weights." Alvin said. "Your still pretty skinny." "Don't let his appearance fool you." Khalid said. "He's one of the most intelligent people you'll meet in this kingdom. Matter of fact, he's so smart and trust worthy that, if for some reason I never have a son to pass the kingdom onto, I believe I'll pass it on to Shu." "Oh, please, your highness. I may be smart, but I don't think I'm smart enough to be the ruler of the kingdom." 'Not smart enough to rule? What in the world do you think you've been doing all these years. Just about every great idea I've put into action for this kingdom, came from you. You've pretty much been running this thing for me. Sometimes, I feel more like a figure head than an actual ruler." "I'm sorry you feel that way. I'll keep my ideas from now on." "No, don't do that. I need your ideas. After all, look much better has gotten because of your ideas. Plus, by following your ideas, I've gained plenty of free time to explore other interests.' Khalid said, looking at Aziza. "I, I see. Well, then I'll a fresh stack of ideas on your desk the day after the wedding. For right now, we should focus solely on the wedding." Khalid nodded. Suddenly, a servant entered the room. "Pardon the interruption, sire, but you've received an urgent letter." "An urgent letter? Who from?" "There is no sender address. It is merely addressed to you, with an urgent stamp on the envelope." "Well, let me see it." The servant produced the letter. "Here you are sire." Khalid opened the letter. "Ah! Khalid, that handwriting." Aziza said. "I know. This is from him." "Him? Him who?" Alvin asked. "Allow me to explain." Shu said. "For a while now, his majesty has been harassed by a man named Sefu, which means sword if your interested." 'Okay, but, how has Sefu been harassing Khalid?" Simon asked. "By assaulting the castle and sending threats like this letter. You see, Sefu has delusions of grandeur. He believes he should be Sultan, and is determined to make it happen. He has amassed a small army of his own and has launched guerilla warfare style raids on the castle. In every strike, he has worn our forces down, just as the Guerilla warfare tactics are designed to do. If this keeps up, he may just weaken us enough to kill his highness and take the throne." "Well, why don't you just send your army after him?" Alvin asked. "Because, you see, we were recently ravaged a massive sandstorm. It crushed our military bases. As a result, all of our military has been relocated to an ally city of ours about thirty miles south of us. Now, we could call them back but, we feel like we should try to catch him ourselves before we waste their energy." Waste their energy?" Simon asked. "Yes. You see, we don't know where Sefu's base is exactly. We have an idea, but not enough information to base a military deployment on. So there's no sense in calling on them. Now, we would send our guards to investigate this area, but, as I said, we've been experiencing many sandstorms as of late. They've kept us inside for some time. Sefu's forces must travel in armored cars, as they always attack during a sandstorm. And, unfortunately, we have no armored cars of our own to retaliate with. And so, we're stuck in a corner." "Sefu says he'll stop the attacks if I give him two things." Khalid said. 'What are they?" Jeanette asked. "Well, the kingdom for a start.'" 'And the other thing?" "Me." Aziza said. "You?" "Yes. You see, Sefu is obsessed with me. So much so that I believe he wants me as bad as he does the kingdom.' "But I'll never let him have you. All he wants you for is a living trophy. Not like me." "I know, but..." Suddenly, the wind outside began to howl. " Oh no, another sandstorm is starting." A guard burst into the room. "Sire! Our scouts have reported that Sefu's armored cars are headed this way!" "I expected that. Aziza, run and hide. Everyone else, prepare for battle!" Cash turned to his family. "You heard the man. Get ready." "Yes, sir!"


	159. Chapter 159

New Munks

Discovering life after battle

The Seville family quickly prepared for battle. No sooner had they taken up their positions, than Sefu's forces erupted into the dining room. With his sword raised high, Khalid shouted 'attack!' All of Khalid's forces, the Seville family included, rushed into battle. Alvin ducked a thunderous right hook from the man he was fighting and then leaped up and kicked him square in the jaw. Another man came up behind him, but Eliza, keeping an eye on her father, knocked the man to his feet with a judo sweep. Father and daughter delivered twin elbows to the man's forehead and knocked him out. 'Thanks, Lizzy." " No problem, daddy. Say, where's mom?" "Good question. Brittany!" "Over here!" Brittany called back from Alvin's right. He turned to see Brittany dropping her enemy with a powerful elbow strike to nose. " 'Whistle' God, I love that woman." "Dad!" Eliza yelled. "What is it, Liz?" "Look! Khalid's getting swarmed." Alvin saw Khalid trying to fend off four attackers at once. 'Not on my watch!" Alvin rushed over and knocked one man down to the floor with a punch to the head.. The man tripped two other guys on the way down, and they fell to the floor as well, smashing their faces into the floor and knocking themselves out.. Alvin then spun around and delivered a strong roundhouse kick to the mans ribs. Eliza came up behind the man, jumped up, and delivered a two footed drop kick to the man's back, knocking him face first into the stone wall in front of him. Of course, this knocked him out. Khalid gathered himself. " 'huff, huff.' Thank you, Alvin." "Don't thank me. Eliza's the one who saw that you were in trouble and told me." "I see. Thank you, Eliza." Eliza nodded. "She's far stronger than she looks." "She takes after her mom. I mean, look at Britt go over there." Brittany had just finished knocking to men out by banging their heads together. "And to think she might be pregnant. And she can still fight that well. Man. Thank you, God, for giving me a wife like her." Alvin thought. "Dad, look out!" Alvin snapped back to reality in time to duck a punch from one of Sefu's soldiers, and returned with a thunderous uppercut of his own. This knocked the man out. " Phew, that was close. Thanks, Liz." "No problem, dad. But, seriously, get your head in the game. Now's not the time for day dreaming." "Your right, your right." The fight continued on for at least ten minutes, but, through their combined efforts, The Seville family, Khalid's guards and Khalid himself defeated all of Sefu's forces. "Lock them up, now!" Khalid cried. "Yes sir!" The guards yelled and then went about dragging all of Sefu's soldiers out of the room. Brittnay and Jeanette both bent over, trying to catch their breath. "Mom, are you ok?" Tony asked. "I'm fine, sweetheart. That was just biggest fight I've been in since we took down Sean. Guess I've gotten out of fighting shape." Tony bought this response, but Simon knew better. "Maybe you ought to sit down." he said. Jeanette nodded. When Jeanette sat down, Tony went over to check on everyone else. Simon took this opportunity to lean in and speak directly into Jeanette's ear. 'Listen, Jean. If another attack happens while we're here, I want you to run off with Aziza." "But..' "No buts, Jean. Just do as I tell you. Please. I'm just want you to take it easy. Not fighting anymore is for the best. It's the best for you and the baby." "Do you really think I'm.." "You have to be. Normally, you wouldn't be that out of breath. Yes, that fight was intense but, even so, you'd still normally have more wind left in you than that. The only reason I can think of to explain right now is that your breathing for two. Your trying to catch the breath of two people. Yours and the baby's. So, please, Jean, if only for the baby's sake, take it easy." Jeanette nodded. 'Okay, I will. You know, now that you've brought up this whole baby thing, I think I do feel a bit different than I normally do. Not that much, but still, I feel a little off." "Do you feel like you did when you were pregnant with Tony?" "I can't tell. I think the gestation period hasn't gone on long enough for me to tell. But, as soon as I feel something like that, I'll let you know." "Okay." Suddenly, Jeanette kissed Simon. "Think about it, Simon. Your gonna be a dad again." "Yeah. I hope it's a girl." "You do?" "Well, I've already got a son, and the traditional American family is a father, a mother and two kids. A son and a daughter. So, call me old fashioned but, I want a daughter this time. And I know you do too." "Guilty. Okay then. I'll do my best to make this one a girl." Simon laughed a little bit. "Just let things take their course, honey. All I ask you to do, is to make sure the baby's healthy. As much as I'd like to have a daughter to complete our family with, I'm more concerned about the baby's health than I am it's gender." "Okay, I understand. I'll try to make this one as healthy as Tony was." Simon nodded. He then caught Tony coming towards them out of the corner of his eye. "Speaking of Tony." Simon said, while Tony was still out of ear shot. Both parents looked up just as Tony got within range. "Well?" Simon asked. " Everybody's okay. Aunt Brittany was out of breath, just like mom was, but she's okay now." "Okay, good. Now, why don't you get yourself something to eat?" "But, all of the food must be cold by now, dad." "That doesn't matter. We're guests here, and it's impolite not to eat as much as you can of the food your given. Besides that, you must be a little low on energy after that big fight. So, get yourself something to reenergize yourself. And, get your mom something too. She looks a little hungry to me. You are hungry, right Jeanette?" "Well, now that you mention it, I could do thing to nibble on, even if it's just a baby carrot." "Okay, I'll go get something." Tony went off to get his mother something to eat. "Say, Simon?" Jeanette asked. "Yeah?" "About what Tony said about Brittany." "What about it?" "Didn't you hear what he said? He said Brittany was completely out of breath, just like me. Now, I'm not psychic like Katrina but, alarm bells are going off in my head right now." "Oh, yeah. I didn't pay attention to that. But, yeah, now I hear alarms going off in my head." "Right. So, do you think Brittany's.." "Expecting? Yeah, I think so. Cause there's no way it's just a coincidence. That's just too convenient. Two sisters, born from a quadruplet birth, having the same reaction to the same stimuli. The similarities are too great. Yeah, I'd say Brittany is definitely pregnant." "Then we should talk to her and Alvin." 'Yeah. Soon as we can get a moment alone with them." "Right." At that moment, they turned to see Cash walking up to Khalid. "So that's that." Cash said. "Yes, it is. Not as bad as has been." "Probably because of the storm. Sounds pretty bad outside and, even with armored cars, it's still not a very good idea to send too many guys out in a storm like that." "Because you don't know how many the storm will take out?" "Exactly. Say, where did Shu go?" " Probably ran off to guard Aziza." "I see. So, everything gonna be okay now?" "I think so. I'll tell you, though, we're lucky." "Why?" " Zuberi didn't show up." "Zuberi?" "Sefu's second in command." "Dangerous guy, huh?" "Very. He's huge and his name fits him to a t. it means strong, that's what Zuberi is. And he's not shy about using all that power." "I see." "Suddenly, there came heavy footsteps from around the corner. "Me and my big mouth." Khalid said.

New munks

The fall of Zuberi

A very tall man entered the room, holding a rope in his hand. "Zuberi." Khalid said. "So, you beat all of my men, eh? Well, you and those wusses you call guards have gotten better. But, you still leave the most important thing wide open." Zuberi yanked on the rope and pulled Aziza and a battered Shu into the room. "Aziza! Shu!" "He's all you can spare for her defense? Heh. Pathetic. You should consider yourself lucky that let him live and gave you this one last chance to see her, before she comes with me to where she belongs." "She's not going anywhere! And neither are you! Except to prison." "Well then, come beat me up and lock me away." "Gladly!" Khalid began to walk towards Zuberi, when Cash threw his hand in front of him. "What?" "Leave this to me, Khalid. You just go get Shu and Aziza." "But, why you?" "Because, not trying to brag but, I think I'm a pretty good judge of character. I could tell when I first met him, that Shu is a good guy. Somebody who doesn't deserve an overboard beating like that. But, he still got one, and that's wrong. So, I think it's only right for Zuberi to take a beating too. And, considering my training, I'd say I'm the best person in the room to give him that beating." Khalid saw the look in Cash's eyes and that convinced him to let Cash handle this. "Very well. He's all yours." "Good. Get ready to make your move." Khalid nodded. Cash began to walk towards Zuberi, while cracking his knuckles and his neck. "Dang. Look at the look in dad's eyes, Tom." Helen said. "Man, he's pissed." Tom said. "I've seen Uncle Cash get mad when he sees good people get hurt before, but, this is a whole new level of mad." Eliza said. "Probably because, even though Shu's the only one Zuberi hurt physically, he's hurting Khalid and Aziza emotionally. So that's three people at once." Tony said. "I see. No wonder he looks so mad." Cash finally got within spitting distance of Zuberi. "So you're my opponent, eh? Pathetic. Your so scrawny, this battle won't last five minutes." "Gloat all you want, but know this. Your not walking out of here. I'll see to that." "Oh really? And how are you going to be sure?" "I'm gonna break one of your legs. Both of them if necessary." "And I'm talking big? Ha!" " Laugh all you want, but know that I'm not above breaking every major bone in your body in order to win." "Ooo, scary." "That's it. I've had enough of your talking. I'm gonna break your jaw now, too. Let's do this." "I thought you'd never say that. Here I come!" Zuberi dropped the rope and charged Cash. 'Now, Khalid!" Khalid ran towards Shu, and Zuberi aimed a punch at Khalid. However, Cash rushed in to block it. " Okay, you're a little stronger than you look. But, your still puny, so, I'd say this is as strong as you get. Right!?" Zuberi yelled as threw a downward, left handed punch at Cash. Cash moved out of the way and, once Zuberi's head was with in range, Cash socked Zuberi in the jaw. "Ah! That smarts! Your gonna pay for that you little shit!' Zuberi threw another punch, and cash side stepped around him. He then elbowed him in the ribs. "Ah!' "You may be strong, but your also slow. And in case you didn't notice, I'm fast. And, speed will always beat strength." "You don't know what your talking about!' Zuberi tried another punch, but Cash ducked it and rapidly struck Zuberi in the stomach as hard as he could. This brought Zuberi to his knees. Cash then pun around the back of Zuberi and kicked him in the back, knocking Zuberi face first into the floor. Zuberi growled and then shot up. Cash back flipped to avoid the attack. He then rushed Zuberi and drove his right fist into Zuberi's stomach, and twisted it a bit, in order to tweak out a little more damage. Cash then flipped onto his hands and flipped his feet up. His brothers knew immediately what move Cash was about to pull off. "Here it comes!' Cash performed the chest stamp to Zuberi's ribs, just below his heart. 'Ah!' Zuberi gasped, before falling down onto one knee. Cash then brought his leg up and drove his heel down onto the back of Zuberi's head, which of course drove Zuberi, once more, face first into the floor. Once prone, Cash walked around and grabbed Zuberi's right foot. He twisted it and, with a strong yank, popped Zuberi's ankle. "Ah!" 'There. He shouldn't be able to get up now." Cash said. He looked down at Zuberi. "Consider yourself lucky. I didn't break your legs, or your jaw. And by the way, you don't have to be big, to be strong." Cash began to walk away when Zuberi willed himself to his feet and, limping as fast as he could on his good foot, attacked Cash. Cash dodged, then elbowed Zuberi in the stomach. When Zuberi keeled over, Cash jumped up and performed a scissor kick to the back of Zuberi's neck, which knocked him out. "There. Now he won't get up. Now then, what was so scary about him?" Every stood awe struck. 'Okay, it's official. Nobody is to get on Uncle Cash's bad side. Cause he'll kill you." Eliza said. Cash suddenly flipped his personality and started laughing. This caught everyone off guard. " Ah, I thought you would have learned by now, Liz. I don't kill people. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't tempting, but I've resisted the temptation before, and I've done it now. And besides that, you guys know I'd never hurt you." "Um, is your brother schizophrenic?" Khaild asked Alvin, who happened to be standing nearby. "No. This is how he normally is. He only gets scary like that when he gets mad. And that was Zuberi's big mistake. He made Cash mad. See, Cash has got one of those classic hero type personalities.. He sees injustice and it pisses him off. And so, he's gotta work off that anger and right the wrong. Zuberi committed an injustice when he beat up Shu and, I guess you could say, tried to kidnap Aziza. By doing this, he hurt three people. Shu, Aziza and you. He hurt Shu physically, and you and Aziza emotionally, by beating up your friend and trying to tear you two apart. And so, Cash got really pissed off and beat the crap out of Zuberi." "I see. He's powerful, isn't he?" "Well, I haven't seen a bad guy yet that can go toe-to-toe with him. If there's a guy like that out there, I hope we don't meet him." "Hey, Khalid!" Cash called. Khalid's head shot up. "What?" "Don't you think we should get Shu to the hospital or something?" "Oh, right. Here, let me get him up." "I'll help ya." Alvin said. Alvin and Khalid picked Shu up and hung one of his arms of over each of there necks. "Alright, we taking him to a car?" "No. There's a doctor on staff, here in the castle. We'll take him to his office." "Okay, let's go." "Aziza?" "Yes?" "Can you show the others to their rooms? I figure they'd like to rest a bit." "Of course. Everyone, follow me. Alvin, I'll come get you in a moment." "Okay. Let's go, khalid." "Right. Hang in there, Shu.' Alvin and Khalid carried Shu away. Aziza sighed. And appeared to be deep in thought. "Are you okay?' Katrina asked. 'Huh? Oh, yes. I'm fine. Come on, let's go." Later on. "Your majesty!" Shu yelled, banging on Khalid's office door. Khalid rushed out into the hall, as did the Seville family, since their rooms were close by. "Shu?! What are you doing here? Get back to bed! Your hurt." "Forget about me, Your majesty! We have bigger problems." "Bigger problems? Like what?" "Aziza.." "What about her?" "She's left the castle, and is headed for where we think Sefu's base is." "She left for Sefu's?! Why?" "I asked her that myself. You see, I was on my way to the bathroom, and saw her. I asked what she doing and she told me. She said today made her think and come to a decision. She said it was better this way, because she believed Sefu would leave you and the rest of us alone if he had her. I tried to stop her, but I didn't have the strength. So, I called on everything I had left and forced myself over here." "She left to protect Khalid." Eleanor muttered. "It won't work." Khalid said. "What do you mean?" Theodore asked. " I understand, and appreciate what Aziza is trying to do, but it won't work. Aziza doesn't know Sefu as well as she thinks she does. Giving herself up like this won't stop Sefu. It'll give him license to attack the castle like never before. Sefu wants everything I have. Aziza and the kingdom. Now, he could take the kingdom by force, by getting rid of me by, I don't know, blowing up the castle maybe. But, having Aziza here prevented that. You see, Sefu wants Aziza as a living trophy. If he blew up the castle, or launched a full force attack, Aziza could be hurt or killed in the process. And, that wouldn't be any good for Sefu. After all, what good is a trophy if it's damaged or destroyed? So, Sefu refrained from such attacks, for fear that his 'trophy' would be damaged. But, now that she's left, he doesn't have to worry. There's no doubt, Sefu will launch a massive attack now. Oh, what am I going to do?" Alvin smacked Khalid in the back of the head as hard as he could. "OW! What was that for?!" "For saying something so stupid. 'what am I supposed to do?' Duh! You go to where you think Sefu's place is, and you tear the place apart until you find Aziza. Then you bring her back here. And, if you happen to run into Sefu along the way, you take him out." "It's not that easy, Alvin." Simon said. 'Khalid is the sultan. If there's an attack, it' Khalid's duty to stand by his men and fight to protect the kingdom. Khalid wants to go rescue Aziza, but he knows he's needed here. And so, he finds himself in a difficult situation. Abandon his lover or abandon his duties? It's not an easy to choice to make." "There is no choice, Simon." Cash said. 'Khalid will stay here and fight." "But what about Aziza?" Jeanette asked. 'I said it earlier. Leave it to me. I'll go get her back.' "But, Cash…" Katrina started. 'Katrina, I'm only going after two people, and I'm only fighting one. Plus, I've got a plan. I'm certain it'll work. Just have faith in me. All of you." The group nodded. 'Just promise me I'm not going to end up a widow tonight." Katrina said. 'And that we won't be one brother short." Alvin said. "I promise that won't happen tonight or any time soon. I swear on my honor." "Well, now you know you can believe in him." Tom said. 'When a samurai like dad swears on his honor like that, you can rest assured he's gonna pull off whatever he's got in mind." Cash nodded. He then looked to khalid. 'I'm going to need a few things." "Of course, anything." Cash looked back to his family. "While I go get ready for my solo mission, the rest of you go back to your rooms and get ready to fight like hell. You understand?" Everyone nodded. "This is why we call you the leader, Cash." Alvin said. 'Hmph. I've told you at least a hundred times, Alvin, and Ill tell you again, since you keep forgetting. We're co-leaders. We're both in charge. But, while I'm in gone, you take full command of our little 'army' here, okay?" "I can't promise I'll do as good a job as you but, I'll do my best." "That's all I'm asking of you, Bro. Now then, everyone go get ready." "You heard him, get moving." Alvin said. The family nodded and headed back to their rooms. "You be careful, okay?" Alvin asked. 'I will. Now, go get ready." "Right." Alvin left to get ready. "Khalid, let's go." "Right. Follow me. The armory is this way." 'That's not what I had in mind." "Then what do you need?" "You got a dungeon around here?' "We have a holding room, where we keep prisoners until the authorities arrive." "Take me there. I need a driver."


	160. Chapter 160

**New munks**

**To the rescue**

**Khalid led Cash to the holding room, where all the recently captured sefu soldiers were kept. All except Zuberi, of course. He was kept in another room, far away from the others. Cash looked in the room. "Do they speak English? Cause I don't speak Arabic." "They should. English is the second language of this kingdom. Everyone in it should speak English." "Well, guess we better go make sure." Cash and Khalid, along with three of Khalid's armed guards, entered the room. "Listen up!" Khalid shouted. "My friend here needs a driver to take him to Sefu's base! Any volunteers?!" no one stepped forward, just as anybody would expect. "Everybody listen!" All attention moved over to him. " In case you guys haven't realized it yet, you've already been caught. Keeping up a code of silence doesn't do you any good here. Now, some one step forward and maybe, just maybe, I can talk Khalid into cutting you some slack." Again, no one said anything. Cash looked around. He took notice of a man in the corner. He looked like a driver to Cash, so Cash walked up to him. 'How about you? Feel like helping me?" The man said something in Arabic, which sounded like an insult. "What did he say?" Cash asked Khalid. "He said 'bite me'." Cash looked back at the man. "Just get me a little angrier, and you'll realize what a poor choice of words that was. Now, you gonna help me, or do I need to get 'persuasive'?" Cash asked, unsheathing his sword on his hip a bit. "You know, this place is awfully far back in the depths of the castle. I doubt anybody would hear the screams if I got a little cut happy in here." Cash said, putting on a false sinister look. "No!" The man next to the man Cash was trying to intimidate yelled. "Please, don't hurt him. Please don't hurt my big brother. He's all the family I have left in this world. I'll, I'll drive you. I know the way." The man's brother looked at him angrily. "I'm sorry, big bro, but, I've gotta do this. I can't take losing another family member." "Alright then.' Cash said. "See, now was that so hard? Alright, buddy, let's go." Two guards shoved the man out of the room and Cash and Khalid followed. "Say, Cash?" Khalid asked. "Hmm?" "Were you really going to hurt that guy?" "Nope. You should have learned by now, khalid. I don't hurt people unless they give me a good reason." "Then what was that back there?" "One of the oldest and most effective tricks in the book: Scare tactics. Your enemy can became a valuable ally if you know how to scare him right." "Did you intend for that to happen then?" "No. I was trying to scare his big brother into helping us. But, this is just as good. I needed a driver, and that's what I got. Now, do you know where I can find some rope?" "Uh, sure. But, why do you need rope?" "Why do you think? I gonna capture Sefu." "What?" "My plan is to use our newly acquired driver and drive one of Sefu's armored cars back to his base. Since it's one of their men and one of their cars, they shouldn't be too suspicious. Once I'm in, I'll track down Aziza, beat the stuffing out of Sefu, tie him up, and sneak him and Aziza back to the car and head back. Simple as that." "Yeah, it's simple when you don't know Sefu. Sefu's not a villain from a story book, Cash. He's crafty. He'll do whatever it takes to win. Defeating him won't be so easy." "You should see some of the people my family and I have dealt with. Believe me, he's not the first of his kind I've crossed paths with, and probably won't be the last. I've dealt with some real scum bags before. Trust me, I know how they operate. And in case you didn't notice, I'm pretty crafty too. I don't play the game like Sefu does, but don't think for a second, that I won't do everything in my power to live up to my promises. I told you that I'm gonna rescue Aziza, and I just told you that I'm gonna capture Sefu. And I intend to make good on those promises. Just put your trust in me, and I swear I won't let you down." "Believe me, he's the one guy here that can pull this off." Said a voice. They turned around to see Alvin. 'What you doing here, Alvin?" "I came to see you off. And… so did everyone else." Alvin said, stepping aside. "Everyone." Cash said, looking at his family. " We wanted to make sure to wish you good luck before you go.' Brittany said. One by one, all the girls in Cash's family came up and gave him a good luck kiss to the cheek. Katrina was the exception. She French kissed Cash for good luck. 'Go make that guy sorry he ever laid eyes on Aziza, Cash." She said when she finished. 'Well, you want me to go now, huh?" "Honestly, no. But, like Alvin said, you're the only one who can take him out. So, go get 'em." 'Yeah! Go kick this Sefu guy's head in, dad. We'll take care of things here." Tom said. Cash nodded. " Like I said before, they're in your hands, Alvin." " I know. Don't worry. I'll make sure that we do our best to make sure that, when you get back, our side is the one that's still standing." "Ha, good old, classic Alvin. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. Speaking of wanting to hear something. Jean, Britt. Come here a second." The blue and pink clad chipettes stepped up to their brother-in-law. Cash leaned in close to them, so that only he and they could hear the conversation. "Listen. I know, okay? Ely's suspicious, but, after what I saw at the dinner, I know. You two are pregnant. And, that's great. But, now's not the greatest time to be pregnant." "Well, it's not like we can stop, Cash." Brittany said quietly. 'I know that. I'm just saying. You've got two lives to worry about. But, I have a feeling that your gonna have to do some fighting anyway. So, promise me this. You two do what you can, but don't go overboard like at the dinner, okay? Promise me." "We promise." Both girls said. "Okay, good. That's what I wanted to hear." "What was that about?" Katrina asked. 'Oh, I was just asking the girls to take it easy on the bad guys, ha-ha." Cash then looked at Katrina with an 'I'll tell you later' look. Katrina, having seen this look before and recognizing it, nodded. "Okay, time to get this show on the road. Everybody, do whatever Alvin tells you. I trust his judgment." "Thanks, Cash. Everybody to your battle stations, or whatever. Uh, say, Britt, why don't be my second in command, and stay real close to me." "Uh, okay." "And Jeanette, you stay really close to me." Simon said. "Right." "Alright then. Seville's, hands in." Cash said. Sticking his hand out. Everyone layered their hands on top of each other. "Let's do a little warrior oath. Here goes. We, who about to engage in battle, hereby swear, with the utmost conviction in our hearts, that, though the tides of fate may pull us apart, we will all return here, alive. So say I…" "So say we all!" "Alright. Let's do this! Break!" Cash whipped around and took off to catch up with the guards and his driver. "Let's go, Khalid!" He yelled. "Coming!" While he was running, Khalid thought "I could learn a thing or two about being king from him." Later. "Alright, that rope looks good. One last thing." "What's that?" "I need to know if Aziza wears a particular scent of perfume." "Why?" "Well, see , being closer to the animal state than most people, grants me a sharp nose. If I can pick up her smell, I can track her. So, what's she wear?" "Her perfume smells like roses." "Okay, that ought to be easy to track. Alright. Time to get going. You, go start the car." "Yes sir." "Alright, I'm off." Khalid shook Cash's hand. "Be safe my friend." "You too. And don't worry. Next time you see me, I'll have Aziza standing next to me and Sefu tied up at my feet." "I look forward to it." **

**New munks**

**Ending the conflict**

**(Later)"Hey! Don't drive so fast! I'm trying to memorize the route, just in case I need to drive back myself." "Uh, yes sir. I'll slow down a bit." Cash was being driven to Sefu's base. He was crouching down low, right behind his driver's seat. "Okay, that's a good speed. Just keep this up." "Yes sir!" "Why are you so tense? It's not like I'm planning to cut your head off the minute we get there or something." "Well, if you were being forced to double cross your boss and were driving a guy with a sword, while your unarmed, wouldn't you be tense?" "Hmm, fair enough. But, you can relax. I'm not planning to hurt you. Your boss on the other hand…well, let's just say he'll be lucky if he's still conscious when I'm done with him." "Your serious about this thing, huh?" "Khalid's a friend, and I don't let anyone mess my friends. They do, and they've got to answer to me. And that's not some simple chat, believe me." "I see. " "Speaking of answering to me, I got a question for you." "What's that?" "Why did you and your brother join up with Sefu?" "The promise of money." "What? Just for greed's sake?" Cash asked, sounding irritated. "No! No, not for greed's sake, I swear! It's because we're really poor, and possibly sick. See, a weird disease runs through our family. It affects both the men and the women. It kills them off with massive heart attacks, even though they never had any heart trouble before. And, age isn't a factor either. Shoot, my little cousin was killed by that disease at age ten." "Oh, man." "Yeah. So, that's why my brother are so desperate. We heard of a doctor in America who had come up a drug that could cure us of that disease. But, since this is such a rare condition, it's not being distributed here. So, we'd have to go to America in order to get. So, there's the price of plane tickets, hotel for at least one night, food, and money for the drug itself. We just don't have it. Don't get me wrong. We tried to earn it the honest way, by working hard. But, we worried that would take too long that way. That's when we heard about Sefu. He promised to pay his warriors handsomely once he had the kingdom. We thought 'bingo'. So, we signed up and here we are." "But, it's blood money." "Hey, when your desperate, blood money is much better than no money. We really don't want to die, and we don't know how much longer we have. You have to understand." "Hmm, what would you do if I told that my family and I could get you that drug you and you brother need so bad?" "You could do that?!" "Course. We're the chipmunks, one of the biggest bands in the land. Least, that's what the magazines say. We've got plenty of money. Not to mention the fact that we have Franklin industries on our side. I'm sure that, somewhere in that alliance, we could find a way to get you guys that drug. But, tell me, what would you do for it?" "I'd work in his majesty's castle until the sentence I'm sure I'm gonna get was worked off, at least. Better than dying in prison. And I'd talk my brother into it too." 'Alright then, when we get back, we'll talk to Khalid. I'm sure he'll listen to your story and take pity. The fact that he should be in a good mood at the end of this doesn't hurt either. So, we got ourselves a deal?" "Yes! Yes of course! Thank you, sir." "Ah, it's nothing. I just can't sit back and watch people fight a battle they can't win. It's not fair in my opinion." "Even so, thank you." "No problem. Huh? Is that it?" Cash asked, noticing a large building getting very close." "Yeah, that's it." "Okay, when we get to the gate, if they ask any questions, make up a good excuse." "Right." Conveniently, the driver didn't need to make up an excuse, and the guards didn't notice Cash. Once inside, Cash exited the car. "You go hide. You'll look suspicious if you just sit here waiting. So, go hide somewhere nearby." "Right." The Driver took off and hid in the far corner, behind some weapons crates. "Alright. Time to find to Aziza." cash began to sniff the air. "Let' see. Motor oil. Gasoline. Gun powder. Come on, where's the rose smell?" Cash opened his nose wide, trying to use it to the best of it's abilities. He caught a faint smell of roses coming from his right. "That way." Cash said to himself. He headed out the door on the right side of the garage like room. He found himself in a hallway. He quickly looked for guards. Finding none, he sniffed the air again. The smell same from the left. "That way." Cash moved quickly, but quietly, down the hallway, making sure to check for guards and to check which direction the smell was coming from at the time occasionally. Eventually, he found himself facing a large door way back in the back of the building. He smelled the scent of roses coming from the other side of the door. "Either this is the door to a rose garden, or Aziza's in there." He leaned up against door and listened. He heard voices. One male and one female. He heard "But, I thought that, if you had me, you'd leave Khalid alone." "Well, then you're a fool. I won't rest until both you and the kingdom are mine." "Please, I'm begging you. Call the attack off and leave Khalid alone." "Hmm, maybe I will. If you give me a kiss." "What?!" "You heard me. Give me a kiss, and if it's good enough, maybe I'll take pity on that wannabe king." "Oh, that's it." Cash said to himself. Cash forcefully opened the door, yelling "Hey, jackass!" Sefu and Aziza both turned to face Cash. "Cash?" Aziza muttered. "You wanna kiss something? Well then, try kissing my fist!" "Cash! What are you doing here?!" Aziza yelled. "What's it look like? I'm here to take you back to Khalid." 'But, I left to protect Khalid." "And that didn't work out so well, did it? Listen, I'm taking you back, cause I promised Khalid I would. He's lost a lot of hope because of this. I could hear it in his voice. Don't you get it? He needs you to succeed." 'What? Really?" "Yup. So, your coming back with me." 'Over my dead body!" Sefu yelled. "Well, that's kinda the idea. Not necessarily over your dead body though. Over your beaten and unconscious body is better. See, I'm taken you back to. So you can be locked up and this feud will end." "I warn you. You'd better leave now. If you don't, you'll die here." Sefu said. "How many times do you think I've heard that one?" "Not many, I bet. After all, you're a singer, not a warrior." "As, they say, looks can be deceiving." Cash said. He unleashed his sword and slid in his battle ready stance. "Let's do this!" 'Heh. You just signed your own death warrant." Sefu said, removing a sword from the wall. Both men charged each other as soon as Sefu unsheathed his sword. They clashed to the furious grinding sound of steel against steel. And so the battle was on. Just as Khalid predicted, Sefu fought dirty. He kicked Cash in the ribs in order to gain leverage and even flung random objects around the room at Cash in order to distract him. But, Cash would not be stopped. He developed tunnel vision and locked it on Sefu. He attacked furiously. Sefu quickly realized how badly he had underestimated Cash. He quickly became frustrated that Cash was more than capable of dodging or blocking just about all of his attack. Finally, he yelled 'Die!' and brought his sword down like a lead block. He intended to bury the blade in Cash's skull. But, Cash blocked it. Sefu began to try to force the blade o his sword closer to Cash's head. He put his full weight on the blade and Cash began to loose his footing on the slick tile floor. Aziza became concerned. 'Cash! Just give up and leave! Please! I did this so no one would die! Please, just leave!" "Oh, would you snap out of it?!" Cash yelled. "I told you. I came for you and I'm not leaving with out you. I made a promise, and I'm not backing out of it now!" Cash kicked Sefu in the stomach in order to get some breathing room. "But, I just wanted to protect everyone. I was willing to marry Sefu, if that's what it took." 'Open your eyes, Aziza. This asshole isn't going to Khalid alone, no matter what you do. And about marrying him, are you serious? Is that really what you want?" "What?" 'You heard me. Is that really what you want? Open your eyes. Open your ears. Listen and see what your heart is saying. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with this jackass, or do you want to spend it with Khalid, the man who really loves you? Do you want the love between you and Khalid to just wither up and die? Well, which is it? Tell me!" "I.." "I can't hear you. Say it, Aziza! Say it in your own words! Come on, let me hear it!" "I, I want.. Khalid!" "Alright then!" Cash cried. getting ready to finish this battle once and for all. Sefu merely smirked. 'Well, that was a really pretty speech. But, words won't win this fight for you. And neither will that toothpick you call a sword!" Sefu rushed Cash. Cash blocked the attack. He then kicked Sefu, hard, in the ribs. "My father made this sword for me. It means a lot to me and I won't let anybody mock it." "Oh, shut up, you furry little bastard!" Cash dodged Sefu's attack and then kicked Sefu in the stomach. Sefu doubled over, facing Aziza. "Now, that's better. It's only proper to bow before her highness." Cash said. " No! Everyone will bow before me! You, and all your family, will bow at my feet!" Sefu tried an overhead attack again. Cash blocked it. "Yeah, here's the thing about that." Cash said, as he forced Sefu away. 'I left my family back at the palace, so they could help fend off the attack I knew was coming. Yup, right about now, I'd imagine that they're wiping the floor with your soldiers." "What?!" "You heard me. My family is beating the hell out of your army, just like I'm about to beat the hell out of you. Cause you see, Me, and all my family, we don't bow down for anybody!" Cash flew towards Sefu and socked him the in the jaw. Cash then turned his sword around backwards and raised it high. "Time to finish this! Here! Have a little taste of a new technique I came up with! It's called the reaper's slam!" Cash repeatedly smashed the back of his sword into Sefu, at every unguarded area. He then ducked down and drove the back of the sword into Sefu's jaw with an uppercut. This knocked Sefu into the air slightly. Cash jumped up and hooked the back of his sword under Sefu's chin. "Reaper's slam!' Cash cried as he drove Sefu, head first, into the floor. This knocked Sefu out. "Cash! You won!" Aziza yelled. "Yeah, but no time to celebrate. Come on, let's get you two out of here. I've got a car and a driver waiting in the garage." 'Right." Cash picked up Sefu and carried him under his arm. He and Aziza then ran out of the room. They hurried back to the garage, thankfully avoiding any guards. Cash called out to the driver as they entered the garage. 'Yo! Driver man1 Let's go!" "Right!" the man said and hurried into the driver's seat." Cash opened the back of the armored car and threw Sefu inside. "Get in!" Cash told Aziza. Aziza nodded and hurriedly climbed in. Cash followed. "Go! Go! It's only a matter of time before somebody notices these two are gone." "Man, you really did a number on him. I can't believe nobody heard the fight." "Yeah, we were lucky. Now, get us out of here!" 'Right! Stay low, you two!" Cash and Aziza ducked down low as the driver pressed a button on the dashboard and opened up the garage door. He pulled out of the garage and told the guards he was taking more weapons to their soldiers at the castle. The guards told him it was a good idea and told him to hurry. The driver said he would and drove off. "Those two are idiots." Aziza muttered. **


	161. Chapter 161

New Munks

Royal wedding

"Tell me about it." The driver said, overhearing Aziza talking about the stupidity of the guards they had just passed. 'Uh, you heard that?" "Yeah. I've got some pretty sharp ears, your majesty. You know, I agree with you. Those two are idiots. You'd think that, they would figure that it would take a lot less time than that to load a car of this size up with weapons." "True, that wouldn't take nearly as long as that fight took. Wait a second. Aren't you one of Sefu's men?" "Uh…" 'You are! You are one of them! I remember you from the attack earlier! What are you doing helping us?" "Well, I…" "Let's just say he's had a change of heart, and I'll tell you more about it later." Cash said. Cash was busy tying Sefu up with the rope. "For right now, Aziza , can you help me out over here?" "Sure." "Great. Here, press down on this part of the rope right here really hard." "Why?" "So that way it stays down and out of the way, so I can tie a lot tighter knot. You don't want Sefu to wake up, work his way out of this and then try to crash us or something half way back, do you?" "Well, no. I mean, that would make all of this a complete waste." "Exactly. So hold that down for a quick second." "Okay." Aziza did as Cash asked and Cash used the leverage to tie as tight a knot as he knew how. "There. He shouldn't be able to get out of that." "Not unless he knows how to temporarily dislocate he joints." Aziza said. "Which I highly doubt he does." Cash returned. " Man, you really knocked him out good, didn't you sir? I thought he would've woke up by now." The driver said. "Well, he did drive Sefu's head into the floor pretty hard." Aziza said. "Ooo!" The driver moaned. 'I've walked on those floors and, man, are they hard. That's why all of Sefu's soldiers wear thick boots. Cause the floor of the base is too hard to walk on with any other kind of shoe. Now I see why he's still out. Man, head first into that. Ow! Man, hurts me just thinking about it." "Then, he should be out for a while still?" Aziza asked. "A long while. Man, he's gonna have the headache from hell when he wakes up." 'Well, let's make sure he wakes up in a nice, cozy jail cell. Floor it!' Cash said. "You got it!" the driver called and began to drive faster and faster. As a result, the group arrived back at the castle within thirty minutes, rather than an hour. The driver parked the car in the castle's garage and the group headed inside, with Cash dragging Sefu along by the rope. They entered a large hall to see a good number of Sefu's soldiers laying defeated on the floor. They saw Alvin knocking out the last one standing. "And, done.' Alvin said as the man hit the floor. Cash surveyed the scene. True to his word, Khalid's forces and the Seville family were all that was still standing. "Well, looks you really came through on that 'only ones standing' thing." Cash said out loud. The family whipped around and all shouted. "Cash!" "Sup, guys?" Cash asked. The family rushed forward to check on him, led by Katrina, Tom and Helen. "I'm fine you guys. Seriously, I'm alright. By the way, good job, Alvin." "Thanks." " Speaking of jobs, I'm happy to report that my mission was a success." Cash said. "I can see that. I'm o glad your back, safe and sound, Aziza." "And I'm glad to be back. I'm sorry I put you through all of this." "Don't worry about it. All that matters to me is that your back. Nothing else matters." "Oh, Khalid!' Aziza cried, throwing herself into Khalid. She quickly became overcome with various emotions and, as a result, began to kiss Khalid. However, before either one could begin to enjoy it, Cash interrupted. "Whoa, whoa! Cool your jets, you two. Save that for the wedding. Besides, I'm done with my report yet." 'You mean?" Khalid asked. "Yup." Cash reached behind him and grabbed the room tied around Sefu. "I brought you a little wedding present." Cash then threw Sefu, by the rope, into plain view for all to see. "Sorry I couldn't wrap it up nicer." "I don't believe this. It's really over. With Zuberi and Sefu both caught, it's really over. With no leaders, the underlings will disband, and never bother us again! This is fantastic!" Khalid yelled. Khalid then realized that he wasn't acting as a sultan should and gathered himself. "'Ahem' Sorry about that. Guards! Take sefu away!" "Yes sir!" One guard picked up Sefu and carried him off. Soon as the Guard and Sefu were out of sight, Khalid turned to the Seville family. "Thank you so much, for all you've done." "Not a problem." Alvin said. "Yeah. After all, your our friends, and we don't let anybody mess with our friends. Believe me, it was no trouble at all. Tiring, yes, but not troublesome." Brittany said. " Even so, thank you. Especially you, Cash. You will all go down in this kingdoms history as heroes, perhaps even become legends one day. But you, Cash, you will be written down under the title of Ini-herit." "Uh, I'll be what now?" "Oh, sorry. I forgot. You don't speak Arabic. Ini-herit means ' he who brings back the distant one'." "Ah, I see. Quite a big title. But, I don't really need it. I was just helping out a friend. I don't really need a reward. But, there is one thing you could do for me." "What's that?" "Listen to this guy's story. He needs help, and I'm sure, working together, you and I can get him the help he needs." Cash said, while gesturing towards the driver. 'Done. It will have to wait until after the wedding though. Can you wait that long?" khalid asked the man. 'Yes, sir. I believe I can. Uh, Mister Seville?" 'Oh, right. His big brother, the guy you saw earlier, has the same problem. So, when you hear him out, make sure his big brother's there." 'Of course. You and your brother will be kept in a special room until after the wedding. Just as a precaution. Just incase the other soldiers are little sore at you, if you catch my meaning." "Yes, sir. That's no problem. I'm just happy that our nightmare is almost over." Khalid nodded. "Guard, go get his brother and then take them to a special room." 'Yes sire. Come along." The driver looked at Cash, with a thankful look on his face. Cash nodded and the man walked away with the guard. Khalid then stretched. 'Well, it's been a long day. Let's all retire to our rooms." "Sounds good to me." Simon said. "Me too. I could use a little beauty sleep." Eliza said. "But, uh, one quick question." "What is it, little one?" 'When's the wedding?" "Hmm, you know what, I feel so good right now that I'm thinking about making it tomorrow. What do you say, Aziza?" "Sounds good to me. As far as I'm concerned, the sooner we're married, the better." "Very well then. Tomorrow it is!" "Then we'd all better get to bed. Big day tomorrow." Eleanor said. "Right. Let's go." Cash said. The group went to bed. The next day, Cash and family got to experience their first, traditional, royal Arabic wedding. "They do it a lot different than we do." Eliza muttered. "Well, they are a different culture." Tony said. 'Yeah, but it doesn't really matter." 'Helen said. "The words and actions are different, but the feeling, what's really important, is exactly the same. At the risk of sounding cliché, I still have to say. No matter how the ceremony is performed, love is universal." "Amen, Nell." Eliza said. "Couldn't have said it better myself." Olivia said. Khalid suddenly turned around and faced the audience. "Now, then everyone. We have a party to attend. I believe in a Christian wedding this is called a reception." "Well, what are standing around for?! Let's go!" Tom yelled, before bolting out of the room. "Tom! Your supposed to let the bride and groom go first!" Vinny yelled, but it was in vain. "Oh, well. Let's go."

New munks

Into the night

At the reception, the Seville family was invited to sit at the main table with khalid and Aziza. After a few toasts and a lot of talking, a thought dawned on Vinny. "Hey!" She said. "What is it, Vin?" Miss Miller asked. "I just realized that Khalid and Aziza haven't had their first dance yet." "Do they even do that at weddings like these?' Dave asked. 'I don't know, but I know I sure feel like dancing." Brittany said. "Me too." Aziza said. 'Well, you heard her girls." Eliza said to Helen and Olivia. The two nodded and then walked over to the middle of the room. "Well, what you still sitting there for? We're gonna sing, so everybody get up and get ready to dance." Eliza said. Every did as she instructed. "Ready girls?" Helen and Olivia nodded. "Alright then. Follow my lead. " the girls nodded and got ready to sing. As they began, everyone joined up with their obvious dance partners. The new munks boys hung out for the moment. "The clock strikes upon the hour and the sun begins to fade. Still enough time to figure out how to chase my blues away. I've done alright up 'til now. It's the light of day that shows me how and when the night falls, my lonely heart calls." Helen and Olivia joined in at the chorus. "Oh! I wanna dance with somebody. I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me. Oh! I wanna dance with somebody. I wanna feel the heat with somebody. Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody, with somebody who loves me." The girls continued to sing and everybody danced. "Man, they're killing." Tom muttered. 'Oh, no, Tom. Don't you dare. Don't you dare turn a special occasion like this into a petty competition." Tony said. "I wasn't planning to. I'm just saying, they've gotten really, really good. I'm proud of them, especially Nell." "Hmm, yeah. I'm proud of them too.' "Hey, guys, are we gonna sing too?' ben asked. 'Well, that's a stupid question. of course we are." Tom said. '"Well, what are we gonna sing? We better figure it out now, cause the girls are almost done." "I know. How about a little Santana?" ;'But, we don't know any Santana songs, Tom." "Oh yes we do. We know one." "Oh, the song he did with the lead singer of Nickelback, right?" Ben asked. "Exactly. And if we're gonna do that, we need instruments. At least couple of guitars. A Santana song just isn't a Santana song without some guitar. Hmm.." Tom looked around. He noticed Shu had just entered the room. He was still suffering from his injuries, but he was determined to make it to this wedding somehow. It had just taken him a really long time to get ready, he was there now, and that was all that mattered to him. 'Hey, Shu!" Tom called. Running over to him. 'What is it ?" Shu asked. "Is there a music room anywhere in this castle?" "Yes, there is.' "Where?" "Directly down the hall behind me. Last door on your left." "Great! Let's go, guys!" The young munks darted to the room. Tom and Tony each picked up a guitar. Ben went and got two guards to help him move the impressive drum set. They got everything set up one second before the girls finished their song. Everyone clapped and then Tom called out. 'Hey, everybody!" Everyone turned and faced him. "Is anybody done dancing yet?" The crowded shouted 'No!" "That's what I thought. Alright, then it's our turn to sing for you. Ready guys?" The two nodded. Tom began to play the opening guitar riff for the song. A few seconds of that later, he began to sing. "Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell. It was love from above, that could save me from hell. She had fire in her soul, it was easy to see. how the devil himself could be pulled out of me. There were drums in the air as she started to dance. Every soul in the room keeping time with there hands. And we sang.." Tony and Ben joined here. It was also here that the girls lost themselves to the beat and began to dance. "Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And the voices bang like the angels sing. We're singing. Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And we danced on into the night. Ay oh ay oh, ay oh ay oh. And we danced on into the night." "Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place. You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces. We were spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes. No room left to move in between you and I. We forgot where we were and we lost track of time. And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night. And we sang…" "Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And our voices rang like the angels sing. We're singing. Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And we danced on into the night. Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay oh. And we danced on into the night." "Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell. It was love from above, that could save me from hell. She had fire in her soul, it was easy to the devil himself could be pulled out of me. There were drums in the air as she started to dance. Every soul in the room keeping time with there hands, And we sang.." "Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And our voices rang like the angels sing. We're singing, ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And we danced on into the night. Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay. And we danced on into the night." And so the party continued. However, the party eventually wound down and the guests left. Finally, it was just the Seville's, Aziza, Khalid and Shu left in the room. 'Thank you for singing, kids." Aziza said. "No problem, your majesty. We were happy to do it and we had fun doing it." Eliza said. 'And so did everyone else." Khalid said. 'Well, we aim to please." Tom said. Eventually, night fell. The Seville's told Khalid and Aziza they would leave tomorrow, so they could begin their honey moon. Aziza thanked everyone for everything one last time. Then, everyone went to bed. Aziza went to bed humming the song the boy sang. Meanwhile, back in America, the leaders of the group decided that now was the time to put their plan into action at last. "Finally. After all that planning, all that weapons collecting, we're finally ready." The female lead said. 'Yes, but, first things first. Let's go get rid of our unnecessary baggage." "Yes, let's. You know, seeing those five just sit around this place, doing nothing, was beginning to bug me. You know what I mean?" "Yes, I do. And, that kind of non-progressive thinking is exactly why we don't need them anymore. So, let's go cut the proverbial apron strings." "Right." The two leaders called the Vorstein's, Ian, Doctor Frankenstein and Professor Crashcup to the main room. They had a group of men stand behind them, armed with assault rifles. They told the five that their services were no longer required. "What's that mean?" Claudia asked. "It means that we've gotten all the use out of you that we need. We no longer need you, so get out!" The female lead said. "Wait! Are you saying what I think your saying? You've been using us this whole time?" Ian asked. "But, of course. We needed patsies to keep the chipmunks occupied, for we were more concerned about them getting involved than we were the police. And we needed some one to build our main weapon. And you were perfect for those tasks. But, now, we don't need you. So, get out, or we'll blast you out!" The female lead yelled. The men aimed their guns. The five scrambled out. Once outside, and far away from the base, the four villains fell into a depression. The fact that they had been used in such a way hurt more than any physical wound they had ever suffered. In their depression, they wandered off. Meanwhile, Professor Crashcup thought "I have warn the police!"


	162. Chapter 162

**New Munks**

**The truth**

**( the next morning) "Well, we'll be seeing you." Alvin said, shaking Khalid's hand. It was early in the morning, and the Seville family was ready to leave for the airport. 'Your welcome any time, my friends." Khalid said. "Thanks. And, hey, if your ever in Hollywood, drop by for a bit." Alvin said. "Will do." Alvin noticed Aziza hugging Brittany. " Please, keep in touch." Aziza said to the pink clad chipette. "I'll try… Oh! Wait! Here, I'll give you my email address. Uh, you got a pen?" "Um, yes. I think so. I usually have one on me. Let me see." Aziza dug around in her pocket. "Ah, here we are." "Great." Brittany said. She then pulled a scrap of paper out of her own pocket. Brittany scribbled down her email address and gave it to Aziza. 'There you go. And here's your pen back." 'Thank you. I'll be sure to email you often." "Okay. And, I'll be sure to tell everyone if you have any news." "I was hoping you'd say that." "Well, come on everybody. The plane's waiting." Xavier said. Brittany threw a quick final hug on Aziza and whispered some good news of her own into Aziza's ear. 'Are you sure?" "Well, I can't feel it yet, but, a few of the signs are there, so, yeah, I'm pretty sure." "Well, when it's born, send me pictures, alright?" "Will do." "Alright, well, you should be going." "Right. See you later." It was evident on all the chipmunks faces and in their voices that didn't really want to leave, but they felt it was only right. After all, they'd been given plenty of time to be alone on their honeymoons. So, with a few final waves, the chipmunks entered the car and drove off. Along the way, Alvin felt the need to ask Cash a question. "Hey, Cash?" "Yeah, Alvin?" "Uh, don't think I didn't like being in charge but, why'd you pick me? I mean, when your not around, Kate often takes over. So, why not leave her in charge?" "Well, I thought, since I keep telling you that we're co-leaders, I should give you a chance to lead." "I see. So that's that." "Yup, that's that." The munks arrived at the airport and quickly boarded their plane. They buckled in and took off moments later. Once the pilot gave the all clear, Alvin unbuckled himself and got up to get a drink. "Anybody want anything while I'm up?" "Can you get me a cherry coke, daddy? Please?" "Sure thing, kiddo.: Alvin pulled out a bottle of cherry coke and walked it over to Eliza. 'Here you go, sweet heart." "Thanks, daddy." Alvin nodded and went back to pick himself up a mountain dew. He sat back down next to Brittany and asked her 'want some?" "Sure." Alvin picked up a cup off of a nearby tray and poured his wife some mountain dew. "Here you are." 'Thank you, honey." Alvin took a sip. He then asked " So, what should we do when we get home?" "You mean besides take the mother of all naps?" Katrina asked. " I mean after we wake up from that." "Well, if I know Todd half as well as I think I do, then he should have at least a half dozen gigs ready for us in about a week. We haven't had any for a while, so we're due. And that should keep us plenty busy." Simon said. "Think he could get us some gigs too, Uncle Simon?" Tom asked. "Yeah, if we're gonna take over as the chipmunks someday, then we need to get our band noticed. In other words, the new munks need gigs and we need them now. So, think he could get us some exposure?" "Well, I don't see why not. Say, maybe you could open for us." "Hey, that'd be good." Tony said. "Open for our parents? Hmm, sure why not?" Olivia said. Helen and Ben nodded, signaling that they liked the idea too. "Alright then." Cash said. "We'll talk to him about it when we get home." The kids cheered. They were very excited about getting this opportunity. Alvin wondered why this idea hadn't been brought up a long time ago, but decided not to say anything. He didn't want to spoil the kids' fun. And so, the hours flew by and the chipmunks found themselves over Hollywood. Theodore and Ben looked out the window. "Hey, dad, look at city hall." The young chipmunk said. Theodore looked down at city hall. A large group of people was gathered in front of it. "What's going on? Some kind of protest?" Ben asked. "No, I don't think so. If it was a protest, we'd see the crowd moving a whole lot more. They just look like their standing there." Simon walked over and looked out the window as well. "Hey, look. There are some people on the roof." this intrigued Cash. In all the time he had lived in Hollywood, no one was seen on top city hall. He looked out the window as well. His sharp eyes caught the glint of something large and metallic. "They've got some kind of really big metal box up there with them." 'Think it's a publicity stunt for some band?" Alvin asked. "Could be. Should we go check out the new guys on the circuit before we go home?" Cash asked. "Why not?" Brittany said. The others nodded. And so, when the plane landed, the munks and family headed over to city hall. They found the crowd to be full of panicked faces. They were all looking up at the roof. Cash and Alvin looked up and saw the mayor and a few of his secretaries fighting. "What in the world are they doing?" Alvin wondered out loud. Two men nearby overheard them. "Alvin?" One asked. "Dylan?" Dylan and his brother walked over to the Seville family. "Dylan, Eric, what in the world is going on? Why are the mayor and his secretaries fighting?" Simon asked. "Yeah, what happened? An argument over a new law go too far?" Brittany asked. "If only it was that simple." Eric said. "What do you mean?" Alvin asked. "I guess it's best to show you. Here, take a look." Eric said, handing Alvin the binoculars that had been hanging around his neck. Alvin looked through the binoculars and saw what Eric couldn't explain. "Oh my God. They're being forced to fight at gun point!" 'What?! Let me see that!" Cash said, snatching the binoculars out of his brother's hands. Cash watched the fight. Sure enough, there were armed gunmen on the roof, forcing the mayor and his secretaries to fight. "You weren't kidding, Al." "Why would I kid about something like that?! It's like Gladiator up there." "Dylan, who's making them do this?" Cash asked. "Some old enemies of theirs. You might not remember this, shoot, it was probably before your time. When were you born again?" "!995." Simon said. "Oh, well, it was a year before you lot were born then. See, back in '94, there was this brother and sister crime duo that was nearly unstoppable. Their names were Regina and Hector Wilshire. They were some of the worst, because they were some damn good at committing crimes. They could pull off any crime and all of their crimes were meticulously thought out. Plotted probably months in advance. Shoot, some of the old cops thought that, while they were committing one crime, they had plans for at least four others swirling around in their heads. And they were probably right. But, eventually, they slipped one time, and that was all some very eager cops needed to catch them. They were in prison for thirteen years. Over that time, they plotted their escape, and pulled it off nineteen years ago, back in 2008. Since then, they fell off the grid, and were never found, cause when they want to disappear, they do it well. But, now they're back, and are getting revenge on everyone who had a hand in putting them away." "The mayor and his secretaries helped put them away?" Helen asked. "That's right. Tragically, all the cops involved in their capture have died in one way or another, but the judge and one of the lawyers that put them away are still alive. And those two are now the mayor and his secretary, the one in the blue shirt. The other guy, just in the wrong place, at the wrong time." "That's horrible!" Eleanor said. "They should be stopped." Katrina said. "Don't you think we're trying? We want to go in, but their guards are all heavily armed. Those guns would turn any assault force we'd put together into Swiss cheese in five seconds. Not to mention the fact that they say they have a uranium bomb." "A uranium bomb?! How did they get one of those?!" Simon asked. "I built it for them." Said a familiar voice from behind. The munks turned to see Professor Crashcup. "Professor!" The guys yelled. "Hello, everybody." Clyde said sadly. "Professor, did you say you built the bomb for them?" Simon asked. "Yes, I did. But, not of my own free will. When I first met them, I thought they were serious history buffs, who just wanted to see how a bomb like that was made. They ended up forcing me to build a live bomb for them, with components they stole." "Professor Crashsup was the one who alerted us to this whole thing." Eric said. "But, we got here to late. By the time we got here, they were firmly in control." "I'm so sorry, but I didn't have any other choice." "If we'd only known, we would have come and rescued you." Simon said. "You wouldn't have had the time." Said another familiar voice. The chipmunks wheeled around to see Ian and the other villains walking towards them. They just happened to wander this way in their depression. "Ian!" Alvin shouted, clenching his fists. "Oh, relax." Ian said. 'We didn't come here to fight you. Not like we'd win anyways." "Okay, that doesn't sound like the Ian I know and love to punch." Alvin said. "He looks depressed." Olivia said. "They all look depressed." Helen said. 'What, you guys finally figure out what giant losers you are?" Tom asked. "You could say that." Ian said. "Ian, what happened?" Cash asked. "Well.." Ian told them the whole truth. How they had been used and how the Wilshires were behind everything. The entire Seville family's collective fists clenched. "So, they were behind Andy's death?' "Katrina asked. "Mostly the Franklin kids there but, if those two hadn't brought them back from the brink of death, then your friend would still be alive." That was all the Seville's needed to hear. Adult and kid munk alike charged the front door, leaving Dave, Vinny, Xavier and Miss Miller standing there. "What the..?" Was All Eric could manage before the Seville family disappeared into the building. Lucky for them, the guards on the roof had turned around a split second before the charged in. "Be careful everyone." Was all Dave could say. " Vinny grabbed Xavier's hand. "They'll be fine, Vin. Just have faith." "Those crazy sons of…" Miss Miller glared at Eric and said "I don't think you want to finish that sentence." Eric changed the subject. "Anybody got their numbers on their cell?" "I do." Dave, who was closest, said. "Let me see it." Dave handed Eric the phone. Eric scrolled down to Simon's name. "Simon! Perfect! He'll listen!" Eric pressed send. Inside, the munks were darting up the stairs as fast as they could. Simon's phone rang. He answered it. "Hello?" "Simon, listen! It's dangerous in there! You have to come back out." "Sorry, Eric. No can do. This is personal. They're responsible for the death of a dear friend of ours. We can't sit back and do nothing." "But, Simon…' "But nothing! They are ours!" Professor Crashcup heard this and took the phone from Eric. "Simon, it's me, Professor Crashcup. Listen, my boy. I'm not going to try to talk you out of beating those two up. I just want you to do something." "What?" "Disarm that bomb." 'How?" "Just like in the movies. Open the panel on the bottom, rip out the red wire, and that'll do it. And don't worry about the uranium while you do it. It's heavily shielded." "Okay, Professor. I'll do it. Talk to you later."**

**New munks**

**Let's end this**

**The munks darted through the halls, headed to the final stair case. Remembering that there were men with powerful guns on the roof, he picked up the thickest piece of metal he could find, a large shield held up by a decorative suit of armor. He would use it to deflect the bullets. A seconds later, the Seville's burst through the door to the roof. "It's over you assholes!" Alvin yelled. "The chipmunks?" Regina asked. "So, you ended up getting involved anyway. Oh well. We'll just have to kill you. Blast them!" The men aimed their guns and fired. Simon placed the shield in front of him and his family just in time to block the gun fire. "This thing won't hold for long. Nell, get rid of those guns!" 'You got it, uncle Simon!" Helen quickly used her telekinesis to rip the guns out of the men's hands, and flung them into the alley behind the building. The rest of the family took that as their cue to attack, and so they did. They made quick work of the guards and threw their unconscious bodies off to the side. "Your turn." Tom said to Regina and Hector. "If you really want to fight, come get some." hector said. The Seville's charged the brother and sister. They turned out to be surprisingly fast and skilled. However, they weren't aware of Katrina and Helen's powers. 'Kate, Nell, mind break them, now!" Cash called. "You got it!" The mother and daughter concentrated and began to cripple the Wilshires with massive headaches. The fell to the ground and the Seville family took advantage of the opening. The women took Regina and the men took Hector. They made sure the two would not be getting back up. They stomped and kicked until they were sure the Wilshire's wouldn't get up. "Alright." Alvin said, out of breath. "That should do it." "Yeah, now to deal with that bomb." Simon said. He walked over and picked up the bomb. He flipped it over and opened the small panel he found there, just as Professor Crashcup had told him to. However, he discovered that there wasn't just one red wire. The machine was full of them. "What the hell?! The professor sounded like there was only one red wire. What's all this?!" The Wilshire's began to laugh. "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" Hector asked. "That's right, we found out about the good professor's little trick. However, by the time we found out, the machine was already built. We couldn't take it apart and undo what he did, so we spray painted all the wires red, just incase, by some crazy ass stroke of luck, somebody managed to get this far." "So, go ahead and try to disarm it." Regina said. "But, pull the wrong one, and it's bye-bye everything! Ha, ha, ha!" Eliza kicked Regina in the ribs. "Oh, shut up already!" She shouted. "Well, go on, Sy. Pull the wire." Alvin said. 'I can't, Alvin. You heard what she said. They're all painted red and if I pull the wrong one…." "You won't do it alone." Cash said. "Just pick a wire, and we'll all pull it together. Whatever happens next, just happens." The rest of the family nodded. "Your sure?" They nodded again. 'We have to do something. If we don't, the bomb will go off and not just kill us, but all the people down there and maybe more." Helen said. "Yeah, least this way we have a fifty- fifty chance of saving them all. And, I no gambler, but, I'd rather have a fifty- fifty chance than no chance at all." Tom said. Simon nodded. 'Okay then." Simon gulped and then examined the wires. One large wire, which was right in the middle of all the wires, caught his eye. "That one. I think it's that one." "You sure?" Cash asked. "No, but, I theorize that, if the professor designed this whole system to shut down if one key wire is pulled, then it must be the largest, and most load-bearing wire in the whole device. And that's this one." "Alright then. Better than nothing. Let's do it" Alvin said. 'Everybody grab hold." Cash said. All the Seville's grabbed hold of the wire. "On the count of three." Cash said. "One….Two…..Three! Pull!" "Everybody hang on!" Simon yelled. The Seville's all involuntarily shut their eyes and pulled. They pulled the wire out and stood in place for a moment. "A-are we dead?" Olivia asked. Eliza opened her eyes and looked around. "If we're dead, then Heaven looks nothing like they say it does in the Bible." She said. The rest of the family opened their eyes and looked around. "No, we're not dead! This is the roof of city hall! And that means…" Ben said. All the kids jumped in celebration while shouting " We did it!" Simon collapsed backwards and Jeanette held him up. "Good job, Sy. You picked the right one." Alvin said. "Thank God for that! Woo, there's goes about ten years off my lifespan." Cash picked up the bomb, walked over to the edge of the roof, held it above his head and shouted "It's over!" The crowd below cheered. "Show off." Alvin said. "I wonder what's gonna happen now." Theodore said. "What's gonna happen now? Duh, Uncle Theodore! We're gonna get medals! That's what's gonna happen!" Tom yelled. "I'm just glad it's over." Tony said. "Yeah, now let's go back and meet our fans." Eliza said. "Yeah, let's go!" Tom shouted. "Oh brother." Olivia said. "Did I say it was over? Cause I was wrong. If Tom and Liz have their way, then it's only just begun." "Oh well. We might as well go." Olivia said. "Yeah, let's go." The Seville family left city hall and were immediately assaulted by the crowd. However, Tom saw some one on the other side of the crowd that he wanted to talk to more than anyone else. "Roxy!" He yelled, he worked his way through the crowd, followed by his cousin. "Roxy, what are you doing here?" "We saw you guys on TV and rushed over. Are you alright?" "Yeah, I'm fine." Roxy through a big hug on Tom. "I'm glad. And, I missed you. Don't go away for so long again." "Okay, I won't." "This is awesome.' Tom heard Rex say. "Not only do I get to date the daughter of Alvin and Brittany Seville, but now she's big hero too?" "Dating me just gets better and better, huh?" "Sure does." Eliza leaned in and kissed Rex's cheek. "I missed you, Rex." "I missed you too, Liz." The other kids were having similar conversations. Harry and Charlene couldn't help but smile. They were happy to see their kids so happy. Eventually, the rest of the Seville family joined the kids. "Well, that was one heck of a family activity, huh dad?" Tom asked. "Sure was. And speaking of family, good see you again, Roxy." "Like wise, dad." "Hey, I'm your dad!" Harry yelled. "I can have more than one dad if I want." The group laughed. ( one week later) "And, for services above and beyond the call of duty of American citizen, it gives me great pride to present the Seville family with these medals of honor, and the key to the city. Let's give them a round of applause." The crowd clapped and cheered. 'Now, I believe Cash here has a few words to say. Cash?" "Thank you, mister Mayor. Hello, everybody. Uh, don't think we don't enjoy this, cause we do. I mean, who wouldn't? But, we're not heroes. We're avengers. The Wilshire siblings' actions lead to the death of a dear of ours, and we were just avenging him. We stopped the bomb afterwards, just because it was the right thing to do. And, that's what I wanna talk about. I know that crime and evil can never be truly wiped out, but, this town used to be a great place to live. People desired to move here. And, if we would all just do our part, do the right thing, we could make that happen again. All it takes is the willingness to try. And I believe that we all have that willingness inside us, we just need to use. So, come on! Let's make this place beautiful again. If we don't, it could give birth to monsters like the Wilshire's again. And, I don't want that, and I don't think you do either. So, please, think about it. Your actions don't have to be major. Just, help one another. Donate to a charity or something. The chipmunks charity is always open to help. Please, just think about it. Thank you." A while later, the munks finally got to go back home and rest. Since it was Sunday, they met at Xavier's for Sunday night dinner. Suddenly, the door bell rang. 'Now who could that be?" Xavier wondered out loud. "I'll get it, Xavier." James said. James came back moments later, with Doctor Samson in tow. "Hey, Doc. What's up?" Alvin asked. "Personally, not much. But, work related, especially work related to you guys, a lot. I tried to catch you after the awards ceremony, but I couldn't get passed the crowd. So, I tried catching you at home, but, obviously I was a little too late. One of your neighbors told me you all left and headed this way, so I went up the street until I found your cars. Which, considering that they're color coded, are pretty hard to miss. By the way, nice place, Mister Franklin." "Thank you doctor." "Your welcome. Now, then, down to the business at hand. Brittany, Jeanette, I have your results from the tests we took a few days ago. I would've got them to you sooner if I could, but the lab was swamped with work. But, that's beside the point. I have your results, and it's good news. I think you know what that means, so should I tell everyone, or do you want to?" "We'll do it." Brittany said. Brittany and Jeanette walked up to the front of the table. Eleanor and Cash exchanged quick glances, both expecting the same news. "Everyone, we're happy too say…" Jeanette started. Brittany joined in and they both said 'We're pregnant!" The table roared in excitement. Alvin and Simon walked and kissed their wives. Tony pumped his fist and said 'Yes!" Eliza started to do a little dance in her seat. "Oh yeah! Gonna be a big sister! Big sister!" She chanted. "Glad your all happy. Well, I gotta book it. Dinner's about to be served back at my place. So, congratulations and I'll see you later." Doc Samson turned and stared to walk away. "Oh, before I forget. You probably can't feel anything right now girls, but, you were far enough along for our tests to detect the genders of your babies. They're listed on the results, so take a look if your interested. Well, see ya." "Well, go one girls." Cash encouraged. "Open 'em and let's see what we're in for." 'Alright." Brittany said. She opened her envelope and read through to where the gender of the baby was listed. " 'gasp' Alvin! Our baby, it's a boy!" "Simon, ours is a girl." Jeanette shouted. " A new boy and a new girl, huh? Well, this is gonna interesting." Xavier said. ( five months later) "No, no, no!" Eliza yelled. She scooped her month old baby brother, Max, into the air, before he could a vase off the shelf and onto his head. " 'sigh' Boy, you love scaring me, don't you Maxy? Your gonna give your poor big sister a heart attack." The chipmunks were gathered today for Dave's birthday. They had invited Harry, Charlene and their kids. Everyone else was unfortunately busy. "Liz, can you help me for a second?" Brittany called from in the kitchen. 'Sure thing, mom. Here, Rex, hold Max for me." "Uh, wait, wha?" Rex didn't get chance to argue, Max was already placed in his hands and Eliza had ran off. "Uh, hey there, little guy. What's up?" Meanwhile. "Hey, tom check this out. Kary, where's daddy?" The young chipmunk looked to Simon. "Good job, Karen!" Tom yelled. Suddenly, the door bell rang. "I'll get it." Cash said. Cash answered the door. It was Rena. 'Huh? Rena? What're you doing here?" "Uncle Cash, listen!" Rena told Cash the situation. Apparently, Kimiko had come on a surprise visit, but had gotten jumped by a mugger nearby. "Oh boy. Guys, we got a situation." "Don't worry about it, dad. We'll take care of this one. Let's go guys. Liz, let's go, it's butt kicking time!" "Coming!" "Okay, Rena, lead the way." " 'Sigh' of all days." Olivia said. 'Ah, suck it, Libby. We'll be done in five minutes." Eliza said, walking into the room. "I say two." Tom said. 'Nah, five, just for good measure.' "I'm telling, it's gonna be two." "Five!' "Two!" "Here we go again." Tony said. "Good grief." Helen said. "Yo, guys, trouble a foot, remember? Let's go!" Ben yelled. "Right! Let's go!"**


End file.
